Already, here and there, on frailest stems Appear some azure gems, Small as might deck, upon a gala day, The forehead of a fay.
In gardens you may note amid the dearth, The crocus breaking earth, And, near the snowdrop"s tender white and green, The violet in its screen.
But many gleams and shadows needs must pa.s.s Along the budding gra.s.s, And weeks go by before the enamored South Shall kiss the rose"s mouth; Still there"s a sense of blossoms yet unborn In the sweet air of morn: One almost to see the very street Grow purple at his feet.
At times a fragrant breeze comes floating by, And brings, you know not why, A feeling as when eager crowds await Before a palace gate Some wondrous pageant; and you scarce would start If, from a beech"s heart, A blue-eyed Dryad, stepping forth, should say, "Behold me! I am May!"
MARION"S MEN.
BY WILLIAM GILMORE SIMMS.
The partisan had managed admirably, but he was now compelled to fly. The advantage of the ground was no longer with him.
Tarleton, with his entire force, had now pa.s.sed through the avenue, and had appeared in the open court in front. The necessity of rapid flight became apparent to Singleton, and the wild, lively notes of his trumpet were accordingly heard stirring the air at not more than rifle distance from the gathering troop of Tarleton. Bitterly aroused by this seeming audacity,--an audacity to which Tarleton, waging a war hitherto of continual successes, had never been accustomed,--his ire grew into fury.
"What, men! shall these rebels carry it so?" he cried aloud.--"Advance, Captain Barsfield! Advance to the right of the fence with twenty men, and stop not to mark your steps. Advance, sir, and charge forward. You should know the ground by this time.
Away!--Captain Kearney, to you wood! Sweep it, sir, with your sabers; and meet in the rear of the garden."
The officers thus commanded moved to the execution of their charges with sufficient celerity. The commands and movements of Major Singleton were much more cool, and not less prompt. He hurried along by his scattered men as they lay here and there covered by this or that bush or tree: "Carry off no bullets that you can spare them, men. Fire as soon as they reach the garden; and when your pieces are clear, take down the hill and mount."
Three minutes did not elapse before the rifles had each poured forth its treasured death; and without pausing to behold the effects of their discharge, each partisan, duly obedient, was on his way, leaping off from cover to cover through the thick woods to the hollow where their horses had been fastened.
The furious Tarleton meanwhile led the way through the garden, the palings of which were torn away to give his cavalry free pa.s.sage. With a soldier"s rage, he hurried forward the pursuit, in a line tolerably direct, after the flying partisans. But Singleton was too good a soldier, and too familiar with the ground, to keep his men in ma.s.s in a wild flight through woods becoming denser at every step.
When they had reached a knoll at some little distance beyond the place where his horses had been fastened, he addressed his troop as follows: "We must break here, my men. Each man will take his own path, and we will all scatter as far apart as possible. Make your way, all of you, for the swamp, however, where in a couple of hours you may all be safe.--Lance Frampton, you will ride with me."
Each trooper knew the country, and, accustomed to individual enterprise and the duties of the scout, there was no hardship to the men of Marion in such a separation. On all hands they glided off, and at a far freer pace than when they rode together in a body. A thousand tracks they found in the woods about them, in pursuing which there was now no obstruction, no jostling of brother-hors.e.m.e.n pressing upon the same route. Singleton and his youthful companion darted away at an easy pace into the woods, in which they had scarcely shrouded themselves before they heard the rushing and fierce cries of Tarleton"s dragoons.
"Do you remember, Lance," said Singleton to the boy,--"do you remember the chase we had from the Oaks when Proctor pursued us?"
"Yes, sir; and a narrow chance it was when your horse tumbled. I thought they would have caught and killed you then, sir; but I didn"t know anything of fighting in the woods then."
"Keep cool, and there"s little danger anywhere," responded Singleton. "Men in a hurry are always in danger. To be safe, be steady. But hark! do you not hear them now? Some of them have got upon our track."
"I do hear a noise, sir: there was a dry bush that cracked then."
"And a voice,--that was a shout. Let us stop for a moment and reload. A shot may be wanted."
Coolly dismounting, Singleton proceeded to charge his rifle, which had been slung across his shoulder. His companion did the same. While loading, the former felt a slight pain and stiffness in his left arm: "I am hurt, Lance, I do believe. Look here at my shoulder."
"There"s blood, sir; and the coat"s cut with a bullet. The bullet"s in your arm, sir."
"No, not now. It has been there, I believe, though the wound is slight. There! now mount; we have no time to see to it now."
"That"s true, sir, for I hear the horses. And look now, major!
There"s two of the dragoons coming through the bush, and straight toward us."
"Two only?" said Singleton, again unslinging his rifle. The boy readily understood the movement, and proceeded to do likewise; but he was too late. The shot of Singleton was immediate, and the foremost trooper fell forward from his horse. His companion fled.
"Don"t "light, Lance: keep on. There"s only one now, and he won"t trouble us. Away, sir!" It was time to speed. The report of the shot and the fall of the dragoon gave a direction to the whole force of the pursuers, whose shouts and cries might now be heard ringing in all directions through the forest behind them.
"They can"t reach us, Lance," said Singleton, as they hastened forward. "We shall round that bay in a few seconds, and they will be sure to boggle into it. On, boy, and waste no eyesight in looking behind you. Push on; the bay is before us."
Thus speaking, guiding and encouraging the boy, the fearless partisan kept on. In a few minutes they had rounded the thick bay, and were deeply sheltered in a dense wood well known at that period by a romantic t.i.tle, which doubtless had its story. "My Lady"s Fancy. We are safe now, Lance, and a little rest will do no harm."
The partisan, as he spoke, drew up his horse, threw himself from his back, fastened him to a hanging branch, and, pa.s.sing down to a hollow where a little brooklet ran trickling along with a gentle murmur, drank deeply of its sweet and quiet waters, which he scooped up with a calabash that hung on a bough above.
Then, throwing himself down under the shadow of the tree, he lay as quietly as if there had been no danger tracking his footsteps, and no deadly enemy still prowling in the neighborhood and hungering for his blood.
--From "Mellichampe."
DEFINITIONS:--Partisan, any one of a body of light troops, designed to carry on a desultory warfare. Audacity, daring spirit. Knoll, a little round hill. Shrouded, hidden. Calabash, a dry gourd scooped out.
NOTES.--Marion"s Men. During the Revolution, General Francis Marion was in command of a body of partisan soldiers known by the above t.i.tle. They were for the most part poorly clad and equipped, but their bravery, self-denial, and patriotism enabled them to do good service in the cause of freedom.
Their deeds have been commemorated in Bryant"s well-known poem, the first stanza of which is as follows:--
"Our band is few, but true and tried, Our leader frank and bold; The British soldier trembles When Marion"s name is told."
Tarleton. Colonel Tarleton was in command of a portion of the British forces in South Carolina during the Revolution. He was an able, brave, but merciless soldier.
THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN.
A CHILD"S STORY.
BY ROBERT BROWNING.
I.
Hamelin town"s in Brunswick, By famous Hanover city; The river Weser, deep and wide, Washes its wall on the southern side A pleasanter spot you never spied; But when begins my ditty, Almost five hundred years ago, To see the townsfolk suffer so From vermin, what a pity!
II.
Rats!
They fought the dogs and killed the cats, And bit the babies in the cradles, And ate the cheeses out of the vats, And licked the soup from the cook"s own ladles.
Split open the kegs of salted sprats, Made nests inside men"s Sunday hats, And even spoiled the women"s chats By drowning their speaking With shrieking and squeaking In fifty different sharps and flats.
III.
At last the people in a body To the town hall came flocking: ""Tis clear," cried they, "our mayor"s a noddy; And as for our corporation--shocking To think we buy gowns lined with ermine For dolts that can"t or won"t determine What"s best to rid us of our vermin!
Rouse up, sirs! Give your brains a racking To find the remedy we"re lacking, Or, sure as fate, we"ll send you packing!"
At this the mayor and corporation Quaked with a mighty consternation.
IV.
An hour they sat in council; At length the mayor broke silence "For a guilder I"d my ermine gown sell; I wish I were a mile hence!
It"s easy to bid one rack one"s brain-- I"m sure my poor head aches again, I"ve scratched it so, and all in vain.
Oh for a trap, a trap, a trap!"