Ballads of Brave Deeds By H. D. Rawnsley. With a Frontispiece and Preface by G. F. Watts |
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The Heroes of Rhondda Vale |
 | Ballads of Brave Deeds |  |
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The Heroes of Rhondda Vale
In the terrible disaster at the Great Western Pit at Ponty-pridd, in the Rhondda Vale, at the first alarm of danger a group of four or five men hurried from their working-place to the bottom of the shaft, a mile distant. They found, to their dismay, that it was only possible to squeeze one more into the cage. Amongst the breathless colliers was one young man—the rest were old ones. The old men decided that the young collier should have the preference, and away the cage swept up the shaft, to hurry down again to the brave fellows who were waiting its return. The interval, although short, had however, been too long for those below, and they were found to have been suffocated.
Sing me an ode, shout a song, chant a hymn on
The deed of undying renown in the dark Rhondda Vale,
Sons of grey Snowdon and hoary Plinlimmon!
Children of Cader so purple! for song cannot fail,
If the deed that is sung be of worth;
And this deed was of Heaven, not of Earth.
The deed of undying renown in the dark Rhondda Vale,
Sons of grey Snowdon and hoary Plinlimmon!
Children of Cader so purple! for song cannot fail,
If the deed that is sung be of worth;
And this deed was of Heaven, not of Earth.
So far let its glory go free,
Bid the streams from the Usk to the Dee
Bear it down to the wandering sea;
Let the tides roll it back to the strand,
And the winds bring it up to the land;
For a deed has been done in the deep
Of the earth that shall never sleep;
A thought has been born underneath,
In the horrible womb
Of the pit, that shall break from its tomb,
And shall rise up above,
On wings of sweet savour like breath
Of a rich sacrifice.
A glorious deed has been done,
To make the heart leap,
And to lighten the eyes
Of the old men who sit in the sun,
Of the young men who toil in the mine,
Of the maidens who follow the kine:
A deed of pure love—
Of love that is careless of death,
Of life that most lives when it dies.
Bid the streams from the Usk to the Dee
Bear it down to the wandering sea;
Let the tides roll it back to the strand,
And the winds bring it up to the land;
For a deed has been done in the deep
Of the earth that shall never sleep;
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In the horrible womb
Of the pit, that shall break from its tomb,
And shall rise up above,
On wings of sweet savour like breath
Of a rich sacrifice.
A glorious deed has been done,
To make the heart leap,
And to lighten the eyes
Of the old men who sit in the sun,
Of the young men who toil in the mine,
Of the maidens who follow the kine:
A deed of pure love—
Of love that is careless of death,
Of life that most lives when it dies.
Fire in the pit! and the fury of flame and the stifle of smoke;
Men in the workings beyond! the gates barred fast by the smother!
Who shall bear message of cheer, or bring through the terrible choke
Word of a chance of escape, hope against hope for a brother?
Men in the workings beyond! the gates barred fast by the smother!
Who shall bear message of cheer, or bring through the terrible choke
Word of a chance of escape, hope against hope for a brother?
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Then underground ran a groan, and the face of the bravest grew pale;
“Fire? Heaven help us! and flame between us and the far-away shaft?
See how the brattice-cloth hangs! God save us! the air-currents fail,
Stopped by a fall of the roof, sucked the wrong road by the draught!”
“Fire? Heaven help us! and flame between us and the far-away shaft?
See how the brattice-cloth hangs! God save us! the air-currents fail,
Stopped by a fall of the roof, sucked the wrong road by the draught!”
Hark to the crash of the coal, hiss, and the crackle of flame!
Sulphurous cloud of the fume rolling its poison along,
Serpent of ill, coiling on from the cradle of doom whence it came,
Fed by the death that it flies—Fury, relentless and strong!
Sulphurous cloud of the fume rolling its poison along,
Serpent of ill, coiling on from the cradle of doom whence it came,
Fed by the death that it flies—Fury, relentless and strong!
Belched from the three-foot, it leapt to the four-foot seam—paused undecided;
Gathered its folds, turned to yellow and lead, like a cobra that springs,
Swept to the gallery, crept to the drift; at the cross-ways divided,
Pouring its horrible breath forward on pestilent wings.
Gathered its folds, turned to yellow and lead, like a cobra that springs,
Swept to the gallery, crept to the drift; at the cross-ways divided,
Pouring its horrible breath forward on pestilent wings.
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Down the dark passages, filled with the smother and reek, came a cry;
Pickaxes flung! and lamps out! waggons left halffilled with their load!
Desperate haste to escape from the doom that men felt they must die,
Heart-hopeless hurry of feet that would race bitter Death on his road.
Pickaxes flung! and lamps out! waggons left halffilled with their load!
Desperate haste to escape from the doom that men felt they must die,
Heart-hopeless hurry of feet that would race bitter Death on his road.
Lights and faint glimmer at last, and a cheer far away in the gloom;
Help for the five of them yet: now God be thanked for His grace!
Help—but never for five; for one of the five is there room;
The cage is crammed head over head, and only for one is there place.
Help for the five of them yet: now God be thanked for His grace!
Help—but never for five; for one of the five is there room;
The cage is crammed head over head, and only for one is there place.
Then was a terrible moment, for four of them thought of their wives,
Back to their home in the valley their hearts in a trice seemed to run;
Men who had lived long enough to be fond of their labour and lives,
Glad for the green, and the break of the leaf, and the laughter of sun.
Back to their home in the valley their hearts in a trice seemed to run;
Men who had lived long enough to be fond of their labour and lives,
Glad for the green, and the break of the leaf, and the laughter of sun.
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Out spake one of the four: “My head is greyer than thine,
Leap to the cage, lad, leap, and say, if we fall in the smother,
‘Life had learned to forego love's best in the Rhondda mine,
Was stronger to give than to get, was willing to die for a brother,’”
Leap to the cage, lad, leap, and say, if we fall in the smother,
‘Life had learned to forego love's best in the Rhondda mine,
Was stronger to give than to get, was willing to die for a brother,’”
Up speeds the cage into light, with a shout, “There are four left behind!”
Round roars the drum, and the sparks fly, as the cables outrun.
Slow, may the cables coil back, and the drum with a groan may rewind!
There are four brought back to the day who shall never behold the sun!
Round roars the drum, and the sparks fly, as the cables outrun.
Slow, may the cables coil back, and the drum with a groan may rewind!
There are four brought back to the day who shall never behold the sun!
| Ballads of Brave Deeds | |