The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery Collected and Revised by the Author |
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VIVE L'EMPEREUR! |
 | The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery |  |
VIVE L'EMPEREUR!
(1827.)
By Wilid's banks the headlong river swept
Like whirlwind for its havoc! white with foam,
And plunging on in many a gurgled roar
Of furious rage! So fiercely flies the steed,
Unmanacled, that with his upshot ears,
And limbs vein-swelling in their wrathful glow,
Undaunted gallops over hill and dale
With name dishevell'd and his eyes on fire.
Each massy bridge was ruin'd; and afar
The giddy wrecks were battling with the flood
Till whirl'd below. 'Twas then Napoleon came
With his embattled hosts. That wondrous Man!
Whose daring spirit, with volcanic rage,
Breathed flame and ruin on the affrighted world.
His eyes the universe could span! His soul
Had fire enough to vanquish all! In vain
Wild Nature barr'd his progress with her crags
O'er-crested by the clouds; in vain the rocks
His path to block, their icy heads uprear'd
Or hurl'd their torrents at him! With a glance
Fierce as the eagle's, when his piercing eye
Gleams through the darkening air, he look'd beyond
Them all: Nature and He were giants twin,
And her impediments but forced the flames
Of genius from his soul; as thunder-clouds
Together clash'd, their lightning-gleams dart forth.
Like whirlwind for its havoc! white with foam,
And plunging on in many a gurgled roar
Of furious rage! So fiercely flies the steed,
Unmanacled, that with his upshot ears,
And limbs vein-swelling in their wrathful glow,
Undaunted gallops over hill and dale
With name dishevell'd and his eyes on fire.
Each massy bridge was ruin'd; and afar
The giddy wrecks were battling with the flood
Till whirl'd below. 'Twas then Napoleon came
With his embattled hosts. That wondrous Man!
Whose daring spirit, with volcanic rage,
Breathed flame and ruin on the affrighted world.
His eyes the universe could span! His soul
Had fire enough to vanquish all! In vain
Wild Nature barr'd his progress with her crags
O'er-crested by the clouds; in vain the rocks
His path to block, their icy heads uprear'd
Or hurl'd their torrents at him! With a glance
Fierce as the eagle's, when his piercing eye
Gleams through the darkening air, he look'd beyond
Them all: Nature and He were giants twin,
And her impediments but forced the flames
Of genius from his soul; as thunder-clouds
Together clash'd, their lightning-gleams dart forth.
602
Upon the howling flood a glance he threw,
Such as the tiger darts, ere on his prey
He springs, to gnash it in his ravening ire;
Then fiercely cried “On! on! my valiant Poles!”
They answered not; but with a clanging stir
Goaded their pawing battle-steeds, and plunged
Amid the torrent's rush. Like loosen'd crags
Down-rushing on the sea, the warriors sank
Emburied in the stream; then buoy'd again,
And panting, cleaved their roaring track. Beneath
Their gallant burdens, bravely paw'd the steeds,
With blowing nostrils and dilated eyes,
And many a furious snort; against their breasts
The cloven waters foam'd, and flash'd behind
Their darting hoofs; and roar'd, and raged around
The dripping foemen, like a startled den
Of lions in the wood:—but vain the rush;
Midway the maddening torrent overwhelm'd
The struggling files; like a tremendous blast
Among autumnal leaves, it scatter'd all!
Rank after rank was buried in the flood,
Their steeds upon; while round their sinking heads
The waters yell'd, as victors o'er their foes:
But in that gasp, while yet their spirits hung
'Tween life and death, as feathers in the air,
Backward they gazed, and with triumphant shrieks
Of valour, fiercely sounded, “Vive l'Empereur!”
Such as the tiger darts, ere on his prey
He springs, to gnash it in his ravening ire;
Then fiercely cried “On! on! my valiant Poles!”
They answered not; but with a clanging stir
Goaded their pawing battle-steeds, and plunged
Amid the torrent's rush. Like loosen'd crags
Down-rushing on the sea, the warriors sank
Emburied in the stream; then buoy'd again,
And panting, cleaved their roaring track. Beneath
Their gallant burdens, bravely paw'd the steeds,
With blowing nostrils and dilated eyes,
And many a furious snort; against their breasts
The cloven waters foam'd, and flash'd behind
Their darting hoofs; and roar'd, and raged around
The dripping foemen, like a startled den
Of lions in the wood:—but vain the rush;
Midway the maddening torrent overwhelm'd
The struggling files; like a tremendous blast
Among autumnal leaves, it scatter'd all!
Rank after rank was buried in the flood,
Their steeds upon; while round their sinking heads
The waters yell'd, as victors o'er their foes:
But in that gasp, while yet their spirits hung
'Tween life and death, as feathers in the air,
Backward they gazed, and with triumphant shrieks
Of valour, fiercely sounded, “Vive l'Empereur!”
He heard their death-cries rolling on the blast;
And, as a lake just rippled into life,
His features flutter'd with terrific throes
Of suffering; then, his grinding teeth he gnash'd,
And dug the nails into his palms; and groan'd
In more than agony, whose deeps were dumb!
And, as a lake just rippled into life,
His features flutter'd with terrific throes
Of suffering; then, his grinding teeth he gnash'd,
And dug the nails into his palms; and groan'd
In more than agony, whose deeps were dumb!
| The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery | |