The Bennington daily banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1877-1877, 1877-08-15

Il ana over All, from sea TO tea.
Wide flew the banner of the free
II did not fear the wrath of kings,
Nor the dread grip Of deadlier things
uaunt Famine with its CHASTITY horde
DishonOr sheathing its foul sword,
Nor faIthless friend, nor treacherouI
blow
Struck in the dark by stealthy foe:
For over all its wide domain.
From shore to shore, from main tC
NAN,
From vale TO mountain-tOp it saw
The reign of plenty, peace, and law!
VIII
Thus Jared the Nation. prosperous, great
and free,
Prophet aud herald of the good to be;
And on its humber way, in calm content
The lesser State, the while, serenely went
Safe in her mountain Businesses she dwelt
Her lite's first cares forgot, its woes unfelt
And thought her bitterest tears had ali
been shed,
For peace was in her borders and God
reigned overhead.
But suddenly over the hills there came
A cry that IT mt her with grief and shame
A cry from the Nation in sore distress,
Stricken down in the pride of its might
ness!
With passionate ardOr up she spraug,
Aud her voice like the peal of trumpet
rang
what hor what no brave sons of mine,
Strong with the strength of the mountain
To the front Of the battle, away! away
The Nation is bleeding in deadly fray,
The Nation, 1t may be, is dying today
On, then. to the rescue away away !"
Ahl how they answered let the ages tell,
For they shall guard the sacred story well!
Green grows the grass, to-day, on many q
battle field;
Wars dread alarms are DER, its scars are
healed;
It's bitter agony has found surcease;
A reunited land clasps hands in peace.
But, oh ! ye blessed dead, whose graves are
From whore our forests make perpetual
moan,
To those far LhOres where smiling South
ern seas
Give back soft murmurs to the fragrant
OH We Who drained for us the bitter cup,
Think ye We can forget what ys have offered
The yearu will come and go, and other cen
turies die,
And generation after generation lie
DOwnln the dust but long as stars shall
shine,
Long as vermOnts green hills shall bear
the pine.
Its lofty peak above the stOrm-clOuds rift,
Or Mansfield hail the blue, o'erarching
Bkies
Or fair Mount Anthony in grandeur rise,
So long shall live the deeds that ye have
done,
So doathless be the glory.ye have won
II.
Not with oxultant Joy
And pride without alloy,
Did the twin Centuries rejoice when all was
Ger.
What though the Nation rose
Triumphant DER its foes
What though the State had
The need of faith unstainedi
Their mighty hearts remembered the dead
that came no more!
Remembered all the Losses,
The weary, weary crosses,
Remembered earth was poorer for the blood
that has been shed.
And knew that it was sadder for the story 1t
had read,
So ciasPing hands with somewhat sad
dened mien,
And eyes uplifted to the Great Unseen,
That rules alike DER Centuries and men,
Onward they walked serenely towards
the Endl
XII.
One reached it last year. Ye remember
The wondrous tale there is no need TO
tell
How the whole world bowed down beside
How ali the Nations came, from far or
near,
Heaping their treasures on its mighty
pail
Never had kiuglist king such funeral
Old Asia rose, and girding her in haste,
Swept in her jewelled robes across the
waste,