 | Original Songs (1861) |  |
55
THE OLD SOLDIER'S NARRATIVE.
I
'Tis true I'm an old soldier now;Forty-five years have pass'd away
Since in the solid square I knelt
The whole of that eventful day.
We sent for succour—there was none,
And Wellington said, with a sigh,
“I and all now upon the field
Must stand and fight until we die.”
II
That was enough. “It shall be so,”We said, “and not a man will flinch.”
So we maintain'd our battle-ground
All day, and never lost an inch.
56
And fell by my rear-rank man's side:
“England and mother!” the last words
He utter'd, just before he died.
III
Conquer'd? Of that we had no fear.One mass of dead we all might be,
Pounding to death we should have stood,
Nor blench'd at the artillery:
Death only could have conquer'd us,
When we were deaf to victory's cry.
We won! and victory's always won
Through the unconquer'd brave who die.
T. M.
| Original Songs (1861) | |