The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1847-01-02
Poetry,
The Song of the sword.

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id picture of the mseries of war. And yet
war s practised and praised by civilized and
christian nations, and the glory of military
butchers eclipses that ofgenius, scholarship,
aud universal philanthropy. So perverted
and false are the judgments ofmen.--JownaL
Weary, and wounded, and worn,-
Wounded, and ready to die, g-l
"A soldier they left, all alone and forlorn,
On the field ofbattle to lie.
The dead and the dying alone
Could their presence aud pity afford;
Whilst with sad and terrible tone,
He sang the Song ofthe Sword.
Fight! fight! fight!
Though THOUSAND fathers die:
Fight! fight! fight!
Though thousands of children cry;
Fight fight! fight! .-. ........... ..
Whilst mothers and wives lament;
And fight! fight! fight!
Whilst millions ofmoney are spent.
Fight fight! fight! . . T.."|H T
Should the cause he foul or fair;
Though AN that's gained is an empty name
And a tax too great to bear;
An empty name aud paltry fame,
And thousands lying dead;
Whilst every glorious victory
Must raise the price of bread.
War! war! war; .E
Fire, and famine, and sword:
Desolate fields and desolate towns,
And thousands scattered abroad
With never II home and never she'd
Whilst Kingdoms perish and fall,
And hundreds of thousands are lying dead;
And all-for nothing at ALL
All! why should such mortals as
Kill those whom we never could hate?
Ills obey your commander or die,-
TITS the law ofthe Sword and the State.
For we are the veriest slaves
That ever had their birth;
For to please the whim ola tyrants will
Is all our use upon earth.
War! war! war!
Musket, and powder and ball;
Ali what do we fight so for?
All! why have we battles at all?
IT'S justice must be done, they say,
The nations honor TO lleep
Alas!,that Justice isrso dear, .......
And human life so cheap!
IT'S sad that christian land
A prolessedly Christian State,
Should thus despise that high command
So useful and so great
Delivered by Christ himself on earth,
Our constant guide TO lie: ..
To glove Our nsighbors ms ourselves,
And bless our enemy"
War! war! war;
Misery, murder, and crime,
Are all the dressings I've seen in thee
From my youth to the present time;
Misery, murder, and crime
Crime, misery, murdep, and woe;
All! would have known in my younger days
A tenth of what now know;
An! had Ibut known in my happier days,
In my hours ofboyish glee,
A tenth of the horrors and crime of war
A 1.-THE ofits misery,
now had hoen joining happy band
Ofwifc and children dear,
Aud had died in my native land,
Instead ofdying here.
And many n long, long day of woe,
And sleepless nights untold,
And drenchng rain, and drifting snow,
And WEAKNESS, famine, and cold.
And worn out limbs, and aching heart,
And grief too great to tell,
And bleeding wound and piercing smart,
Had escaped full well.
But though with such sorrow and woe,
Thy progress must always abound;
All! would it were only below ...
That the fruits of thy curse could lie found
But war! war! war;
From all that ever could see,
Full many groan, in the future world,
Must be traced, fenr to thee.
Weary, and wounded, and worm
Wounded, and ready die,
A soldier they left, all alone and forlorn,
On the field of battle to lie;
The dead and the dying alone
Coul& their presence and pity afford,
Whilst thus with n sad and terrible tone,
U(Oh! would that those truths were more pei
fectly known,)