 | The poetical works of Samuel Woodworth |  |
269
THE FIREMAN,
SPOKEN BY MRS. DUFF, FOR THE FIREMEN'S BENEFIT, JANUARY 24, 1827.
Hoarse wintry blasts a solemn requiem sung
To the departed day—upon whose bier
The velvet pall of midnight had been flung,
And nature mourned through one wide hemisphere.
Silence and darkness held their cheerless sway,
Save in the haunts of riotous excess;
And half the world in dreamy slumbers lay,
Lost in the maze of sweet forgetfulness.
To the departed day—upon whose bier
The velvet pall of midnight had been flung,
And nature mourned through one wide hemisphere.
Silence and darkness held their cheerless sway,
Save in the haunts of riotous excess;
And half the world in dreamy slumbers lay,
Lost in the maze of sweet forgetfulness.
When lo! upon the startled ear
There broke a sound, so dread and drear,
As, like a sudden peal of thunder,
Burst the bands of sleep asunder,
And filled a thousand throbbing hearts with fear.
Hark! the faithful watchman's cry
Speaks a conflagration nigh!
See! you glow upon the sky
Confirms the fearful tale!
The deep-mouthed bells, with rapid tone,
Combine to make the tidings known;
Affrighted silence now has flown.
And sound of terror freight the chilly gale!
There broke a sound, so dread and drear,
As, like a sudden peal of thunder,
Burst the bands of sleep asunder,
And filled a thousand throbbing hearts with fear.
Hark! the faithful watchman's cry
Speaks a conflagration nigh!
See! you glow upon the sky
Confirms the fearful tale!
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Combine to make the tidings known;
Affrighted silence now has flown.
And sound of terror freight the chilly gale!
At the first note of this discordant din,
The gallant Fireman from his slumber starts,
Reckless of toil or danger, if he win
The tributary meed of grateful hearts.
From pavement rough, or frozen ground,
His engine's rattling wheels resound,
And soon, before his eyes,
The lurid flames, with horrid glare,
Mingled with murky vapor, rise
In wreathy folds, upon the air,
And veil the frowning skies!
The gallant Fireman from his slumber starts,
Reckless of toil or danger, if he win
The tributary meed of grateful hearts.
From pavement rough, or frozen ground,
His engine's rattling wheels resound,
And soon, before his eyes,
The lurid flames, with horrid glare,
Mingled with murky vapor, rise
In wreathy folds, upon the air,
And veil the frowning skies!
Sudden, a shriek assails his heart!
A female shriek! so piercing wild
As makes his very life-blood start—
“My child!—Almighty God!—My child!”
A female shriek! so piercing wild
As makes his very life-blood start—
“My child!—Almighty God!—My child!”
He hears—and 'gainst the tottering wall
The ponderous ladder rears,
While blazing fragments round him fall,
And crackling sounds assail his ears!
His sinewy arm, with one rude crash,
Hurls to the earth the opposing sash,
The ponderous ladder rears,
While blazing fragments round him fall,
And crackling sounds assail his ears!
His sinewy arm, with one rude crash,
Hurls to the earth the opposing sash,
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And, heedless of the startling din,
Though smoky volumes round him roll,
The mother's shriek has pierced his soul!
See!—See!—He plunges in!
Though smoky volumes round him roll,
The mother's shriek has pierced his soul!
See!—See!—He plunges in!
The admiring crowd, with hopes and fears,
In breathless expectation stand!
When lo! the daring youth appears,
Hailed by a burst of warm, ecstatic cheers,
Bearing the child, triumphant, in his hand!
In breathless expectation stand!
When lo! the daring youth appears,
Hailed by a burst of warm, ecstatic cheers,
Bearing the child, triumphant, in his hand!
| The poetical works of Samuel Woodworth | |