’Tis morn; but scarce yon level sun Can pierce the war-clouds, rolling dun, Where furious Frank and fiery Hun Shout in their sulphurous canopy. The combat deepens. On, ye Brave, Who rush to glory or the grave! Wave, Munich! all thy banners wave, And charge with all thy chivalry! Few, few shall part, where many meet! The snow shall be their winding-sheet, And every turf beneath their feet Shall be a soldier’s sepulchre. EARL MARCH EARL MARCH looked on his dying child, And, smit with grief to view her— The youth, he cried, whom I exiled Shall be restored to woo her. She’s at the window many an hour His coming to discover: And he looked up to Ellen’s bower And she looked on her lover— But ah! so pale, he knew her not, Though her smile on him was dwelling! And am I then forgot—forgot? It broke the heart of Ellen. In vain he weeps, in vain he sighs, Her cheek is cold as ashes; Nor love’s own kiss shall wake those eyes To lift their silken lashes. CHARLES LAMB 1775–1835 HESTER. WHEN maidens such as Hester die, Their place ye may not well supply, Though ye among a thousand try With vain endeavour. A month or more hath she been dead, Yet cannot I by force be led To think upon the wormy bed And her together. A springy motion in her gait, A rising step, did indicate Of pride and joy no common rate That flushed her spirit: I know not by what name beside I shall it call: if ’twas not pride, It was a joy to that allied She did inherit. Her parents held the Quaker rule, Which doth the human feeling cool; But she was trained in Nature’s school, Nature had blest her. A waking eye, a prying mind, A heart that stirs, is hard to bind; A hawk’s keen sight ye cannot blind, Ye could not Hester. My sprightly neighbour! gone before To that unknown and silent shore, Shall we not meet, as heretofore, Some summer morning— When from thy cheerful eyes a ray Hath struck a bliss upon the day, A bliss that would not go away, A sweet fore-warning? ALLAN CUNNINGHAM 1784–1842 A WET SHEET AND A FLOWING SEA A WET sheet and a flowing sea, A wind that follows fast And fills the white and rustling sail And bends the gallant mast; And bends the gallant mast, my boys, While like the eagle free Away the good ship flies, and leaves Old England on the lee. O for a soft and gentle wind! I heard a fair one cry; But give to me the snoring breeze And white waves heaving high; And white waves heaving high, my lads, The good ship tight and free— The world of waters is our home, And merry men are we.