Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-06-14

DAouuCdu, AVttu VhC ioiloNihS poch'
Not NINE the magic gift Of song.
To sweep the spirit chords along,
To stir the heart. the soul 10 thrill
And sway tn > multitude at will
Not NJ mine the larl's free wing the eagles eye,
With burst of music wondrous sweet
The very god OF day TO greet;
And floating in that upper air
Behold trath raintow-hued with vision rare.
Bid man himself on Fancy wing to soar
And taste Of joys unknown TO thought before;
Nay, mines muse of humble birth
Who loves the quiet haunts of earth.
Who nestles close md homely joys
And shuns the great worlds light and noise;
In cosey corners sits apart "a"
And sings to every waiting heart.
In palace or in hut she sings
And to the saddest soul lends wings;
The humblest yet the dearest of the nine,
The muse Of Memory to-day is mine,
Her presence sweetens all communion.
And makes the gladness OF Re-Cnon.
She sings of ehildhood's peaceful joys,
A Nations careless girls and boys
Whose lives flow on in such content
They ask not whence the blessings sent,
And while their pleasures do not lag,
Beck not Of country, home, or flag.
Yet in the twinkling of an eye.
When Treasons hand is lifted high
At once to patriots all awake
Ready TO die for country's sake.
And the strong arm of Treason dire
In the white heat of patriotic fire
Falls to the ground charred and shapeless thing,
q
She shows apicture in her glass,
A girlish teacher with her class
OF rosy girls and manly boys
Tasting the sweets which never clogs.
/ see them at the blackboard stand,
crayon poised in every hand,
Their faces turned the teachers way,
The lesson is in Algebra;
But never thought of X or ~"
kindled such light in flashing eye;
An unknown quantity, so far,
They talk to-day Of civilw
Fired onour flag! the stripes and stars
Established by our Fathers prayers.
Then fight we must, give blow for blow,
And shall leave my books and go.
Taking from side of the equation,
But sp0ils the problem of our Nation,
We boys will 60 and just re-state it,
Then what is wrong. eliminate it
And so with many laugh and pun,
A world of earnest meath their fun
They close their books, their plans for life,
And enter on the deadly strife.
Striplings to-day with book and pen,
Tomorrow grown to valiant men,
Quick to obey or to command,
They bring to aid their native land
The same firm will and just intent
Which brought success on problems bent.
few days pass; see again
The waiting crowded railway train;
| see the tears by Mothers shed,
The smile for parting words nnsad,
hear the jokes that turn to sighs;
The quiyerng lips, the earnest eyes,
The backward wave Of many hand,
The last "hnrrah'' for native land.
They're gone God keep them through The fray,
That score of boys in Algebra!
Why linger longer on the scenes
glimpseis quite enough. / ween;
From every sChool-r Dom in the North
Such bands OF noble boys~ent forth
From otiice-desk and backwoods farm
They fastened at the first alarm
And scarce country shop or store
But gave to Freedoms cause one more
When patriotism's holy fame
Through war burned ont a Nations shame.
You know the rest. why should my pen
The awful story tell again;
The happy letters hOmeyTard sent;
The Jokes which so much heart-ache meant;
The photos" of the boys in blue
The fondest mother scarcely knew;
The thirst for news, the long suspense;
The strain on every nerve, how tense;
The anxious hearts, the eager haste;
Nopostman must a moment waste.
The welcome letter, held so fast
We dared not open it at last,
The boys are well All yes, and no;
We've met and boldly faced the foe.
And I'm unhurt but james is"
No more we hear the tidngs read
The ashen pail OF grief falls round
And shuts out other sight and sound.
But who shall say who Jared the best
The one who entered into rest
To whom swift exchange was given,
From strife on earl to peace in heaven,
or he who heart sick with the strife,
Held honor dearer stll than life,
And turned again with courage true
To face the deadly combat through,
or wounded on the battle plain
Lay thirsting till the gentle rain
Came down like angels tears to soothe
The anguish it could not remove,
Then meath the surgeons hurried care
Who had no time limb to spare.
ritteG both for peace and strife
Came forth a crippled man for fe2
We weep with tears of honest pride
For him who for his country died.
Alas for him unscathed by
Who homeward led by loves bright star
Finds in their safe and sheltered nook
That Death his loved ones overlook
Unarmed himself by shot and shell.
In the red mouth Of Wars fierce hell
Some unseen hand seemed Death to foil,
That Death might him Of all despoil.
For those who pe-ished in the tray,
We gladly keep Memorial Day;
We read the honor roll aloud
OF every kinsnan Justly proud.
For thoughts Fl love, the outward sign,
The laurel and the cypress Irvine,
But nemorJ sets no day apart
For him who lives with broken heart
Who measures a. he counts the cost,
The worth of all he loved and lost.
But why should in feeble verse.
The horrors Of this tale rehearse?
You know the unrOmantic side,
OF glorious march and dashng ride;
You know the sorrow Of the strife,
The awful loss Of human life;
Yoh shudder as you think again
OF fortunes in the prison pen;
You know the victories and defeats
You counted with your OWE heart beats;
My muse is singing TO each heart
How well each soldier bore his part
From Sumter's Summons to the fay,
To peace on Appomattox day.