Sacramento daily record-union., 1883-10-27
TIE LONG DRAmA-rRom 7s TO 'ss

BE LONG DRAmA-FEOM 10 TO Z
[Read at Newburgh Centennial Celebration
With banners bright, with roll OF drums,
With pride ard pomp and civic state,
A nation, born OF courage, comes
The closing act 10 celebrate.
We've traced the drama page by page
From Lexington - Yorktown field
The curtain drops upon the stage,
The century's book to-day is sealed
A cycle grand with wonders fraught
hat triumph over time aud space
In woven steel its dreams are wrought,
The nations whisper face to fsce
But in the proud and onward march
We halt an hour for dress parade,
Remembering that fair freedoms arch
Springs from the base our fathers laid
With cheeks Agiov with patriot fire
They pass 10 long review again,
We grasp the hand Of noble sire
Who made tIso lo0rdS of "Noblemen
In silence now the tattered band
Heroes in homespan worn and gray
Around the old Headquarters stand
As in that dark uncertain day.
That loE-rooted dwelling shelters still
The phanton tenants Of the past;
kach g1rret beam, each Oaken sill
Treasures and holds their memories fast
Ay. humble walls the manger-birth
To emphasize this truth was given
The uoblest deeds are nearest earth,
The loHliest roofs are nearest Heaven.
We hear the anthem once again
No king but God r-to guide our way,
L Ike that of old" Good will 70 men -
UntJ The shrine where freedom lay.
One window looking toward the east,
Seven doors wide-open every side;
That room revered proclaims at least
An invitation free and wide.
Wayne, Putnam, Knox and Heath are there,
steuben, proud p ussia's honcred son,
Brave La Fayette from France the fair,
And, chief Of all, our Washington.
Serene and calm in periPs hour,
An honest man without pretense,
He stands supreme to teach the power
And brilliancy Of common sense.
Alike disdaining fraud and art,
He blended love with stern command
He bore his country in his heart,
He held his army by the hand.
Hush carping critic, read Alright
The record of his fair renown -
A leader by divlner right
Than he who wore the British crown.
With silver locks and eyes grown dim,
As victory sun proclaimed the morn,
He pushed aside the dadem
With stern rebuke and patriot scorn.
He quells the half-paid mutineers,
And binds them closer to the cause
His presence turns their wrath to tears,
Their muttered threats to loud applause.
The great Republic had its birth
That hour beneath the army's wisg,
Whose leader taught by native worth
The man is grander than the king.
The stars on that bright azure field,
Which proudly wave Ger land and sea,
We're itly taken from his shield
To be our common heraldry.
We need no trappiDgs worn and old,
No courtly Lineage TO invoke,
No tinseed plate, DUt solid god,
No thin veneer, but heart Of oak.
No aping after foreign ways
Becomes g son Of noble sire;
Columbia wins the swestest praise
When clad in simple, plain attire.
In science, poesy and art,
We ask the best the wo Id can give
We feel the throb sf Britain's heart,
And will while Burns and Shakespeare live.
But oh the nation is too great
To borrow emptiness aud pride;
The queenly Hudson wears in state
Her robes with native pigments dyed.
October lifts with colors bright
Its mountain canvas to the sky;
The crimson trees, agloT with light,
Unto our banners wave reply.
Like Horeb's bush the leaves repeat
From lips Of fame with glory crowned
Put of thy shoes from off thy feet,
The place they trod is holy ground
o fairest stream beneath the sun
Thy Highland portal was the key,
Which force and treason well-nigh won,
Like that of famed ThermopylB.
That Ridge along our eastern coast,
From Carolina to the Sound,
Opposed its front to England's host,
And heroes at each pass were found.
A vast primeval palisade,
With bastions bold and wooded crest,
A buIwark strong, by nature made
To guard the valley Of the west
Along its nights the beacons cleaned,
It formed the na ions battle-line,
Firm as the rocks and cliffs where dreamed
The soldier. seers Of Palestine.
These hills shall keep their memory sure,
The blocks We rear shall fall away,
The mountain fastnesses endure,
And speak their glorious deeds for aye
And oh while mornings golden urn
Pours amber light DER purple brim,
And rosy peaks like rubies burn
Around the emerald valleys rim;
So long preserve our hearthstone warm
Our reverence, o God, increase !
And let the glad centeunials form
One long Millennial Of Peace.
Wallace Bruce, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y