St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1889-10-17

Let the present fade away,
And the Splendors of today;
For our hearts within us burn
AS our glanceS backward turn.
What rare mem Dries awaken
AS the tree of life is shaken,
And its STORED branches blow
In the winds of long agoI
Do We not remember brothers,
Ere the war-dayS how twas said
Grand, heroic days were over
And proud chiva1ry was dead
Still we saw the glittering lanceS
Cleaning through the old romances,
Still beheld the watch-fres burning
On the cloudy heights of Time;
And from the fields that they had wo
When the stormy fight was done
Saw victorious knights returning
Flushed with triumph's joy sublime!
For the light of song and story
Kind1ed with Supernal glory
Plains where ancient heroes fought;
And i11uInined with Splendor
Rare and magical and tender,
All the mighty deeds they wrought.
But we thought the sword of battle,
Long unused. had lost its glow,
And the sullen war-gods slumbered
Where their a1tar-fres burned low
III.
Was the nation dull and sodden,
Buried in material things?
Twas the chrySa1is, awaiting
The sure stirring of its wingsl
For when rang the thrilling war-cry
Over all the startled land,
And the fiery cross OF battle,
Flaming G, sped from hand to hand,
Then how Jared it, o my brothers
Were men false or craven then?
Did they fa1ter?
Did they palter
Did they question Why or when
Oh, the story shall be told
Until earth itself is DID,
How from m mountain and from glen,
More than thrice ten thousand men
Heard the challenge of the foe,
Heard the nations cry of woe,
Heard the SUNNI Oning to arms,
And the battles loud alarmsl
In turnultuouS surprise,
LO, their answer rent the skies;
And its quick and strong heart-thrills
Rocked the everlasting hills
Forth from poisoning fields they sped
To the fields with carnage red;
Left the plowshare standing still,
Left the bench, the forge, the mill,
And the quarrys marble shade,
Left the quiet walks of trade
Left the pulpit and the court,
Careless ease and idle sport,
Left the students clustered halls
In the old, gray college walls,
Left young 1ove-dreamS, dear and sweet,
Wars stern front, unblenched to meet!
oh, the strange and sad amaze
OF those forgotten days,
When the boys whom we had guided,
Nursed and loved, caressed and chided,
Suddenly, in night,
Sprang to manhood's proudest hight;
And with calmly smiling lips,
AS who life's rarest goblet sips,
Dauntless, with unhurried breath,
Marched to danger and to death!
".
Soldiers, is this the spot?
Fair the scene is, calm and fair,
In this still October air.
Far blue hills look gently down
On the happy, tranquil town,
And the ridges nearer by
STEPPED in autumn sunshine lie,
Laden orchards, smiling fields,
Rich in all that nature yields,
Bright streams winding in and out
Fertile meadows round about,
Lowing herds and hum of bee,
Birds that fit from tree to tree,
ChildrenS voices ringing clear,
All we touch or hear,
Fruit of gold in silver set
Tell of JOY and peace And yet
Soldiers, in this the spot
That can never be forgot?
Was it here that shot and shell
Poured as from the mouth of hell,
Drenched the shrinking, tremb bling plain
With a flood of fiery rain ?
Was it here the awful wonder
OF the lannon's crashing thunder
Shook the affrighted hills and made
Even the stolid rocks afraid
Was it here an armed host,
Like two clouds where lightningS play
Or two oceans, tempest tost,
C1ashed and mingled in the fray?
Here that mid the din and smoke,
Roar of guns and saber stroke,
Tramp of furious steeds, where moan
H rse and rider, both o'erthrOwn,
Lurid fires and battle yell,
Forty thousand brave men fell =?
V.
o brothers, words are weak
What tongue shall dare to speak
Even song itself grows dumb
In this high presence-Come
Forth, We whose ashes lie
Under this arching sky!
Speak We in accents clear,
Words that we fain would heari
Tell us when your dim eyes,
Holy with sacrifice,
Look through the battle smoke
Up to the skies =
Tell us, We valiant dead,
When your souls starward fed,
II ow from the portals far