 | Miami Woods : a golden wedding and other poems |  |
256
The Revelers.
There were sounds of mirth and revelry,
In an old ancestral hall,
And many a merry laugh rang out,
And many a merry call;
And the glass was freely pass'd around,
And the red wine freely quaff'd;
And many a heart beat high with glee,
And the joy of the thrilling draught—
In that broad and huge ancestral hall,
Of the times that were, of old.
In an old ancestral hall,
And many a merry laugh rang out,
And many a merry call;
And the glass was freely pass'd around,
And the red wine freely quaff'd;
And many a heart beat high with glee,
And the joy of the thrilling draught—
In that broad and huge ancestral hall,
Of the times that were, of old.
A voice arose, as the lights grew dim,
And a glass was flourished high:
“I drink to Life!” said a Reveler bold,
“And I do not fear to die.
I have no fear—I have no fear—
Talk not of the vagrant, Death;
For he's but a grim old gentleman,
And wars but with his breath.”
A boast well worthy a revel-rout
Of the times that were, of old.
And a glass was flourished high:
“I drink to Life!” said a Reveler bold,
“And I do not fear to die.
I have no fear—I have no fear—
Talk not of the vagrant, Death;
For he's but a grim old gentleman,
And wars but with his breath.”
A boast well worthy a revel-rout
Of the times that were, of old.
257
“We drink,” said all, “We drink to Life
And we do not fear to die!”
Just then a rushing sound was heard,
As of quick wings sweeping by;
And soon the old latch was lifted up,
And the door flew open wide,
And a stranger strode within the hall,
With an air of martial pride:
In visor and cloak, like a secret knight
Of the times that were, of old.
And we do not fear to die!”
Just then a rushing sound was heard,
As of quick wings sweeping by;
And soon the old latch was lifted up,
And the door flew open wide,
And a stranger strode within the hall,
With an air of martial pride:
In visor and cloak, like a secret knight
Of the times that were, of old.
He spoke: “I join in your revelry,
Bold sons of the Bacchan rite,
And I drink the toast ye have filled to drink,
The pledge of yon dauntless knight:
Fill high—fill higher—we drink to Life,
And we scorn the vagrant, Death,
For he's but a grim old gentleman,
And wars but with his breath.”
A pledge well worthy a revel-rout
Of the times that were, of old.
Bold sons of the Bacchan rite,
And I drink the toast ye have filled to drink,
The pledge of yon dauntless knight:
Fill high—fill higher—we drink to Life,
And we scorn the vagrant, Death,
For he's but a grim old gentleman,
And wars but with his breath.”
A pledge well worthy a revel-rout
Of the times that were, of old.
“He's a noble soul, that champion knight,
And he wears a martial brow:
Oh, he'll pass the gates of Paradise,
To the regions of bliss below!”
The Reveler stood in deep amaze—
Now flashed his fiery eye;
He muttered a curse—then shouted loud,
“Intruder, thou shalt die!”
And his sword leap'd out, like a baron's brave,
Of the times that were, of old.
And he wears a martial brow:
Oh, he'll pass the gates of Paradise,
To the regions of bliss below!”
258
Now flashed his fiery eye;
He muttered a curse—then shouted loud,
“Intruder, thou shalt die!”
And his sword leap'd out, like a baron's brave,
Of the times that were, of old.
He struck—and the stranger's guise fell off,
When a phantom before him stood,
A grinning, and ghastly, and horrible thing,
That curdled his boiling blood.
He stirred not again, till the stranger blew
A blast of his withering breath;
Then the Reveler fell at the Phantom's feet,
And his conqueror was—Death!
In that broad and high ancestral hall,
Of the times that were, of old.
When a phantom before him stood,
A grinning, and ghastly, and horrible thing,
That curdled his boiling blood.
He stirred not again, till the stranger blew
A blast of his withering breath;
Then the Reveler fell at the Phantom's feet,
And his conqueror was—Death!
In that broad and high ancestral hall,
Of the times that were, of old.
| Miami Woods : a golden wedding and other poems | |