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CONCORD HYMN

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CONCORD HYMN *

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.

The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
And Time the ruined bridge has swept

Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set to-day a votive stone;
That memory may their deeds redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

Spirit, that made those heroes dare

To die, and leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and thee.

SUGGESTIVE EXERCISES

1. Look up the story of the battles of Lexington and Concord. 2. What is the general tone of this hymn-warlike or peaceful? 3. Who were the "embattled farmers"?

4. Explain the fourth line in the first stanza.

5. Who were "the foe"?

6. What ravages has Time wrought? Yet why is the modern bridge built in form like that of the rude bridge of old?

7. What is the "votive stone"?

8. Explain "memory may their deeds redeem."

9. What is the closing prayer of the hymn?

10. What triumphant note of patriotism pervades the poem? Is the poem generous or selfish in dealing with "the foe"?

*Used by special permission of the publishers, Houghton Mifflin Company.

REFERENCES

DWIGHT: Columbia, Columbia, To Glory Arise!

BANCROFT: History of the United States. Battles of Lexington and Concord.

MCMASTER: The Old Continentals.

ROBERT KELLY WEEKS: A Song for Lexington.

READ: The Rising of '76. Our Defenders.

LONGFELLOW: Paul Revere's Ride.

WALLACE: The Sword of Bunker Hill. Independence Bell.

THE CONQUERED BANNER

ABRAM JOSEPH RYAN

ATHER RYAN was a Catholic priest who served

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as a chaplain in the Confederate army during the Civil War. He was an ardent follower of "The Starsand-Bars," as well as a zealous servant of his God. He had prayed daily to the great God of Battles for the triumph of the Southern cause. But when that cause was lost, and his hero, Lee, had surrendered at Appomattox, he still clung unwaveringly to his faith in the eternal justice of God, who orders the destinies of nations. In sadness, in mourning, reverently, touchingly, the poetvoice of this lyric speaks the tenderest note of the progressive South-heart. The priest-poet, sharing the sorrow and disappointment and loss of his people, rises on the wings of faith to noble self-conquest where he breathes forth a message of sublime submission, "It is best. Let it rest." Every emotion that could fill the hearts of a people vanquished in a cause they felt to be just, is here represented in a poem so tender, and so true to the best in the chastened hearts of the Southland.

THE CONQUERED BANNER*

Furl that Banner, for 't is weary;
Round its staff 't is drooping dreary:
Furl it, fold it, it is best;

For there's not a man to wave it,

And there's not a sword to save it,

*Copyrighted by P. J. Kennedy & Sons and used by special permission of the publishers.

And there's not one left to lave it
In the blood which heroes gave it,
And its foes now scorn and brave it:
Furl it, hide it,— let it rest!

Take that Banner down! 't is tattered;
Broken is its staff and shattered;
And the valiant hosts are scattered,
Over whom it floated high.
Oh, 't is hard for us to fold it,

Hard to think there's none to hold it,
Hard that those who once unrolled it
Now must furl it with a sigh!

Furl that Banner furl it sadly!
Once ten thousands hailed it gladly,
And ten thousands wildly, madly,
Swore it should forever wave;
Swore that foeman's sword should never
Hearts like theirs entwined dissever,
Till that flag should float forever
O'er their freedom or their grave!

Furl it! for the hands that grasped it,
And the hearts that fondly clasped it,
Cold and dead are lying low;
And that Banner-it is trailing,
While around it sounds the wailing
Of its people in their woe.

For, though conquered, they adore it, -
Love the cold, dead hands that bore it,
Weep for those who fell before it,
Pardon those who trailed and tore it;
And oh, wildly they deplore it,

Now to furl and fold it so!

Furl that Banner! True, 't is gory, Yet 't is wreathed around with glory, And 't will live in song and story Though its folds are in the dust!

THE CONQUERED BANNER

For its fame on brightest pages,
Penned by poets and by sages,
Shall go sounding down the ages -
Furl its folds though now we must.

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Let it droop there, furled forever,-
For its people's hopes are fled!

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SUGGESTIVE EXERCISES

1. Explain fully the meaning of the word "furl." What is the significance of "furling" a military flag?

2. What reasons are given for furling the Banner?

3. Why is it "hard for us to fold it"?

4. What had this Banner stood for?

5. With what loyalty had it been greeted and followed?

6. What is the attitude of the conquered people toward the Banner?

7. In what sense is this Banner said to be "holy"?

8. Why "unfold it never"?

9. Cite passages which show the various emotions which fill the hearts of this people as they furl their banner.

10. Explain "t is weary."

11. What power has ordered the scattering of this valiant host? 12. Explain fully the poet's conclusion, "It is best."

13. Read the poem many times aloud and notice how complete is the harmony between the sound and the sense.

REFERENCES

WILL HENRY THOMPSON: The High Tide at Gettysburg.

FINCH: The Blue and the Gray.

PALMER: One Undivided Country.

WHITTIER: Our Country. Laus Deo.

TIMROD: Ode to the Confederate Dead.

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