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The story paused, but forward bent,
The listeners, with insatiate ear,
Sat all unwearied, and intent
Some other gallant deed to hear.
But most the tale of war inflames
The brother of the veteran James,
The lad whose questions brief and bold,
His frank and ardent spirit told;
New to the war, he longed to try
His skill and strength of arm and eye;
For often in the forest near
His shot had stopped the bounding deer,
And rapid as the flash of light
Had struck the partridge in her flight.

But mute the wily hunter lies,
And peers around with searching eyes
And frowning brow. His ready ear
Had caught the sound of footsteps near;
And soon the parted boughs between
Two scouts of Marion's band are seen;
Between the two, with bandaged eyes,
To guard their fastness from surprise,
In scarlet dress a third appears.
A flag of truce the Briton bears—
He comes commissioned to provide
Exchange of prisoners, and to frame
Some plan, to curb on either side,
The license that disgraced its name;
To crush the base marauding bands
That marred the noble soldier's toils,
The bandit hordes, whose felon hands
With murder reeked and bloody spoils.

With calm, frank air, and courteous word,
The forest warrior met his guest,
The plan with glad attention heard,
The wish with earnest warmth exprest
That something they might do to stay
The license of that bloody day.
Brave hearts with equal honor fraught,
Soldiers alike in deed and thought,
Each, in his foe, with ready eyes
A brother seemed to recognize.

The business done, and noon-day near,
The parting guest was prest to stay:
“Stop,” said the Chief, “my larder share;
'Tis ampler than is wont, to-day;
Whatever be the dish, at least,
You're warmly welcomed to the feast.”

They sat, the chair a fallen pine,
Its bark their dish; the simple fare
Potatoes, and the daintiest wine—
Cool water from the fountain near.
With wonder struck, the Briton viewed
The drink, the furniture, the food:
“Is this your life,” he gravely said,
“Is this your daily meat and bread?
On food like this, will soldiers stay,
To watch by night, to fight by day,
And give their blood and lives away?”
“We fight for freedom, not for pride,
Or wealth, or power,” the Chief replied.
The Briton bowed—his manly heart
Was moved—in silence on his way,
Thoughtful he went. “Is mine the part
To fight such men,” he said, “for pay?
No never!” To his island shore
He turned his steps, his sword resigned,
Untainted with fraternal gore.
He left no nobler heart behind.
How few like him! how few that give
The dismal tales of every clime
A brighter page, and nobly live
To cheer the waste of wrong and crime;
Tales else that hatred and disgust
Would spurn and trample in the dust.

Rare are the noble hearts that, strong
In fixt resolve and purpose high,
Retain amid the common throng
Some semblance of their native sky;
Not theirs the part, with groveling eye,
To watch Ambition's paths alone,
And every mean allurement try
To make her maddening heights their own.
With hand of steel, with heart of stone,
Not theirs through carnage to obtain
The victor's wreath, the monarch's throne,
And deluge earth with crimson rain;
Nor theirs, the deep enduring stain
Of those that, formed for nobler aim,
For truth, for honor, basely train
Their powers to grope for party fame,
To win from fools or knaves a name—
To worship Mammon, to degrade,
For office sake, the sacred flame
By Heaven for nobler objects made;
The flowers of genius shrink and fade—
Even they shall moulder into dust,
If on unhallowed altars laid
To wreathe the brows of wine or lust:
Time with no laurel crowns the bust
Of him who basely trades away
His birthright and the sacred trust,
For the low purpose dares betray,
To him the garlands of a day;
Not those of amaranth belong,
Such as diviner brows display,
That love the right and scorn the wrong:
Alas! that, lost amid the throng,
His name unpraised we never knew,
To whom applause and minstrel song,
Love, honor, monuments are due;
His name, who bravely cast aside
Advancement, friendship, martial pride,
And scorned the efforts to enslave,
By arms, the noble and the brave.