Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1857-05-01
Dortital 5rlrftiuus.
DEATH OF KANE.
By FITz JAMES o'BEIEN.

DEATH OF KANE. !
BY FITz JAMES o'BEIEN.
Alof, upon an old basaltic crag,
Which, sealped By keen winds that defend the 1
Pole,
Gazes with dead face on the seas that roll
Around the secret Of the mystic zone,
A mighty nations staT-bespangled flag
Flutters alone.
And underneath, upon the lifeess front
OF that dTear cliff, simple name is traced;
Fit type of him, who, furnishing and galni,
But with a rocky purpose in his soul,
Breasted the gathering SHOWS,
Chung to the drifting foes,
By want beleagured, and by winter chased,
Seeking the brother lost amid that frozen waste
Not many months ago we greeted him.
Crowned with the icy honors Of the North.
Across the land bis hardswon fame went forth,
And Names deep woods were shaken limb by
limb.
His own mild Keystone State, sedate and prim,
Burst from decorous quiet as he came.
Hot Southern lips, with eloquence afame,
Sounded his triumph. Texas, wild and grim,
Preferred its horny hand. The large lungedWest,
From out its giant breast,
Yelled its frank welcome. And from main to main,
Jub1ant to the sky,
ThuDdered the mighty cry,
HONOR TO KANE!
In vain-n vain beneath his feet we flung
The reddening rosesl All in vain we poured
The golden wine, and round the shining board
Sent the toast circling, till the rafters rung
With the thrice-tTipled honors of the feast!
Scarce the buds wilted and the voices ceased
Ere the pure light that sparkled in his eyes,
Bright as auroral fires in Southern skies.
Faded and faded. Aud the brave young heart
That the relentless Arctic winds had robbed
OF all its vital heat, in that long quest
For the lost captain, now within his breast
More and more family throbbed.
His was the victory; but as his grasp
Closed on the laurel crown with eager clasp,
Death launched whistling dart;
And ere the thunders Of applause were done
His bright eyes closed forever on the suG!
Too late-too late the splendid prize be won
In the Olympic race Of Science and of Art!
Like to some shattered berg that, pale and lone,
Drifts from the white North to a Tropic zone,
And in the burning day
Wastes peak by peak away,
Til on some rosy even
1t dies with sunlight blessing III so he
Tranquility loated to a Southern sea,
And melted into heaven
He needs no tears who lived a noble life
We viii not weep for him who died so welli
But we will gather round the hearth, and tell
The story Of his strife.
Such homage suits him well;
Better than funeral pomp, or passing bell!
What tale of peril and selEsacrifcel
Prisoned amid the Businesses Of ice,
With hunger bowling DER the wastes of snow
Night frightening into months; the ravenor
foe
Crunching the massive ships, as the white bear
Crunches his prey. The insufficient share
or loathesome food;
The lethargy of famine; the despair
Urging to labor, nerYelessly pursued;
Toll done with skinny arms, and faces hued
Like pallid masks, while dolefully behind
Glimmered the fading embers Of mindl
That awful hour, when through the PROSTATE bar
Delirium stalked, laying his burning hand
Upon the CHASTITY foreheads Of the crew.
The whispers Of rebellion, faint and few
At first, but deepening ever till they grew
Into black thoughts of murder: such the thron
OF horrors round the Hero. High the song
Should be that hymns the noble part he playe
Sinking himself-yet ministering aid
To all around him. By a mighty will
Living defiant Of the wants that kill,
Because his death would seal his comrades fa'
Cheering with ceaseless and inventive skill
Those Polar winters, dark and desola.e.
Equal to every trial, every fate,
He stands, Until spring, tardy with relief,
Unlocks the icy gate,
And the pale prisoners thread the world Oh
more,
To the steep cliffs Of Greenland's pastoral shor
Bearing their dying chief!
Time was when he should gain his spurs Of g
From royal hands, who wooed the knigh
state;
The knell Of old formalities is tolled,
And the worlds knights are now selfconsecr'
No grander episode doth chivalry hold
In all its annals, back to Charlemagne,
Than that long vigil of unceasing pain,
Faithfully kept, through hunger and through C
By the good Christian knight ELISHA KANr