The Captain's Story Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEFGHIJK DLMNOPQORDSTUVDK WXYZ A2B2 OC2WLD2ME2RAF2G2H2DI 2E2J2ODXDDK2L2O MM2DN2O2AP2Q2ODK R2 DS2T2U2V2W2KDX2S2Y2D DOZ2A3HB3AC3 V2D3NE3Z2DNF3G3H3D I3J3K3L3W2MM3N3B3O3P 3Q3R3MCDS3ODND3T3E3U 3H3OV3DDW3X3DY3DZ3A4 DD B4DW3X3C4D4E4E3F4A2 D4 H2CG4D T3H4MP3I4Q3L2J4H3K4H 4L4M4N4O4IM4DHE2Q3P4 I3OQ4R4H2S4OAN2DDDDL 2O H3V3K2KT4U4V4M4LW4IX 4SY4Z4DA2E3T4H2DE3MT 4Z2DLW2V3W2W2 RPV3W2 W2OV3SCDW2DK W2W2W2DDW2SW2D3NM L2HB3GW2NS2DW2B3W2W2 W2C2V2DW2W2W2L4W2S2W 2W2W2W2W2DW2W2HW2W2W 2AW2S2W2DDDW2WDK3MW2 L2W2DDS2W2DW2K2SKW2W 2W2D AW2W2KDI W2W2W2DAW2S2W2DHAMKW 2 W2W2W2DDW2W2 ML2MW2S2 D KS2W2W2 MM DDW2W2W2W2MMM MW2KMW2DMKW2W2D MDW2W2F3DW2B3M W2KDW2DAW2W2DDW2XDSW 2ZA4W2W2V3W2W2DMW2W2 S2PD W2SY2MW2 L4W2S2L4S2 DMB3W2A4 MY2 W2W2D W2MML4W2DS2W2D W2W2 W2DS2W2W2 MW2W2D PW2W2W2DW2Q Y2T2KDW2W2 W2W2KW2W2 MW2W2MW2S2DW2W2G4W2W 2M MW2DB3DDMW2AW2 M W2MW2D W2DADDMW2DDSW2MKW2DM W2D S2S2S2DMMM MMMMM F3 MW2W2W2W2S2W2W2MS2MM W2W2D DSW2 MMW2MF3DDS2MMW2W2MMD ADDDD MMW2W2W2 DW2W2DW2DW2MSDDW2W2D DB3DW2MW2W2W2W2MDDW2 W2AD W2DW2DMM AMW2MDMMW2DS2M D W2MK DKKKDMDMKMW2 MKKDB3 W2DDM W2W2W2W2KMMDW2 MKKKW2DW2MDD KW2W2K MW2DDDDDW2W2KA4MK MW2W2W2 A4DDMKMD W2 M KS2W2W2W2 DW2W2DMDDDW2W2W2 W2W2W2MW2KB3W2MKW2W2 D MW2DMW2KW2W2W2MDDKW2 DDDMDKMDMDDW2W2 W2W2MDKKKW2KKW2DDDMW 2MW2MW2DW2MDKMMMKMW2 W2 W2 DDW2DW2 W2W2MMW2W2MW2 W2B3DW2DA4W2DW2 W2 DDW2 W2W2S2W2W2

Well comrades let us fight one battle more	A
Let the cock crow we'll guard the camp till morn	B
And since the singers and the merry ones	C
Are hors de combat fill the cups again	D
Nod if you must but listen to a tale	E
Romantic but the warp thereof is truth	F
When the old Flag on Sumter's sea girt walls	G
From its proud perch a fluttering ruin fell	H
I swore an oath as big as Bunker Hill	I
For I was younger then nor battle scarred	J
And full of patriot faith and patriot fire	K
	-
I raised a company of riflemen	D
Marched to the front and proud of my command	L
Nor seeking higher led them till the day	M
Of triumph and the nation's jubilee	N
Among the first that answered to my call	O
The hero came whose story you shall hear	P
'Tis better I describe him He was young	Q
Near two and twenty neither short nor tall	O
A slender student and his tapering hands	R
Had better graced a maiden than a man	D
Sad thoughtful face a wealth of raven hair	S
Brushed back in waves from forehead prominent	T
A classic nose half Roman and half Greek	U
Dark lustrous eyes beneath dark jutting brows	V
Wearing a shade of sorrow yet so keen	D
And in the storm of battle flashing fire	K
	-
'Well boy ' I said 'I doubt if you will do	W
I need stout men for picket line and march	X
Men that have bone and muscle men inured	Y
To toil and hardships men in short my boy	Z
To march and fight and march and fight again '	-
A queer expression lit his earnest face	A2
Half frown half smile	B2
	-
'Well try me ' That was all	O
He answered and I put him on the roll	C2
Paul Douglas private and he donned the blue	W
Paul proved himself the best in my command	L
I found him first at reveille and first	D2
In all the varied duties of the day	M
His rough hewn comrades bred to boisterous ways	E2
Jeered at the slender youth with maiden hands	R
Nicknamed him 'Nel ' and for a month or more	A
Kept up a fusillade of jokes and jeers	F2
Their jokes and jeers he heard but heeded not	G2
Or heeding did a kindly act for him	H2
That jeered him loudest so the hardy men	D
Came to look up to Paul as one above	I2
The level of their rough and roistering ways	E2
He never joined the jolly soldier sports	J2
But ever was the first at bugle call	O
Mastered the drill and often drilled the men	D
Fatigued with duty weary with the march	X
Under the blaze of the midsummer sun	D
He murmured not alike in sun or rain	D
His utmost duty eager to perform	K2
And ever ready always just the same	L2
Patient and earnest sad and silent Paul	O
	-
The day of battle came that Sabbath day	M
Midsummer A Hot and blistering as the flames	M2
Of prairie fires wind driven the burning sun	D
Blazed down upon us and the blinding dust	N2
Wheeled in dense clouds and covered all our ranks	O2
As we marched on to battle Then the roar	A
Of batteries broke upon us Glad indeed	P2
That music to my soldiers and they cheered	Q2
And cheered again and boasted all but Paul	O
And shouted 'On to Richmond ' He alone	D
Was silent but his eyes were full of fire	K
	-
A The first battle of Bull Run July	R2
	-
Then came the order 'Forward double quick '	-
And we rushed into battle formed our line	D
Facing the foe the ambushed deadly foe	S2
Hid in the thicket with the Union flag	T2
A cheat hung out before it luring us	U2
Into a blazing hell The battle broke	V2
With wildest fury on us crashed and roared	W2
The rolling thunder of continuous fire	K
We broke and rallied charged and broke again	D
And rallied still broke counter charge and charged	X2
Loud yelling furious on the hidden foe	S2
Met thrice our numbers and came flying back	Y2
Disordered and disheartened Yet again	D
I strove to rally my discouraged men	D
But hell was fairly howling only Paul	O
Eager but bleeding from a bullet wound	Z2
In the left arm came bounding to my side	A3
But at that moment I was struck and fell	H
Fell prostrate and a swooning sense of death	B3
Came on me and I saw and heard no more	A
Of battle on that Sabbath	C3
	-
I awoke	V2
Confined and jolted in an ambulance	D3
Piled with the wounded driven recklessly	N
By one who chiefly cared to save himself	E3
Dizzy and faint I raised my head my wound	Z2
Was not as dangerous as it might have been	D
A scalp wound on the temple there you see	N
He put his finger on the ugly scar	F3
Half an inch deeper and some soldier friend	G3
Among the veterans gathered here to night	H3
Perchance had told a briefer tale than mine	D
	-
In front and rear I saw the reckless rout	I3
A broken army flying panic struck	J3
Our proud brigades of undulating steel	K3
That marched at sunrise under blazoned flags	L3
Singing the victory ere the cannon roared	W2
And eager for the honors of the day	M
Like bison Indian chased on windy plains	M3
Now broken and commingled fled the field	N3
Words of command were only wasted breath	B3
Colonels and brigadiers on foot and soiled	O3
Were pushed and jostled by the hurrying hordes	P3
Anon the cry of 'Cavalry ' arose	Q3
And army teams came dashing down the road	R3
And plunged into the panic All the way	M
Was strewn with broken wagons battery guns	C
Tents muskets knapsacks and exhausted men	D
My men were mingled with the lawless crowd	S3
And in the swarm behind us there was Paul	O
Silent and soldier like with knapsack on	D
And rifle on his shoulder guarding me	N
And marching on behind the ambulance	D3
So all that dark and dreadful night we marched	T3
Each man a captain captain of himself	E3
Nor cared for orders on that wild retreat	U3
To safety from disaster All that night	H3
Silent and soldier like my wounded Paul	O
Marched close behind and kept his faithful watch	V3
For ever and anon the jaded men	D
Clamorous and threat'ning sought to clamber in	D
Whom Paul drove off at point of bayonet	W3
Wielding his musket with his good right arm	X3
But when the night was waning to the morn	D
I saw that he was weary and I made	Y3
A place for Paul and begged him to get in	D
'No Captain no ' he answered 'I will walk	Z3
I'm making bone and muscle learning how	A4
To march and fight and march and fight again '	-
That silenced me and we went rumbling on	D
Till morning found us safe at Arlington	D
	-
A month off duty and a faithful nurse	B4
Worked wonders and my head was whole again	D
Nay to be candid cracked a little yet	W3
My nurse was Paul Albeit his left arm	X3
Flesh wounded pained him sorely for a time	C4
With filial care he dressed my battered head	D4
And wrote for me to anxious friends at home	E4
But never wrote a letter for himself	E3
Thinking of this one day I spoke of it	F4
A cloud came o'er his face	A2
	-
'My friends ' he said	D4
'Are here among my comrades in the camp '	-
That made a mystery and I questioned him	H2
He gave no answer or evasive ones	C
Seeming to shrink from question and to wrap	G4
Himself within himself and live within	D
	-
Again we joined our regiment and marched	T3
Over the hills and dales of Maryland	H4
Along the famous river wound our way	M
On picket duty at the frequent fords	P3
For weary laggard months were we employed	I4
Guarding the broad Potomac while our foes	Q3
Stealthily watching for their human game	L2
Lurked like Apaches on the wooded shores	J4
Bands of enemy's cavalry by night	H3
Along the line of river prowled and sought	K4
To dash across and raid in Maryland	H4
Three regiments guarded miles of river bank	L4
And drilled alternately and one was ours	M4
Off picket duty alike in fair or foul	N4
With knapsacks on and bearing forty rounds	O4
From morn till night we drilled battalion drill	I
Often at double quick for weary hours	M4
Bearing our burdens in the blazing sun	D
Till strong men staggered from the ranks and fell	H
Aye many a hardy man in those hard days	E2
Was drilled and disciplined into his grave Arose	Q3
Murmurs of discontent and loud complaints	P4
Fell on dull ears till patience was worn out	I3
And mutiny was hinted As for Paul	O
I never heard a murmur from his lips	Q4
Nor did he ask a reason for the things	R4
Unreasonable and hard required of him	H2
But straightway did his duty just as if	S4
The nation's fate hung on it I pitied Paul	O
Slender of form and delicate he bore	A
The toils and duties of the hardiest	N2
Ill from exposure or fatigued and worn	D
On picket hungered shivering in the rain	D
Or sweltering in full dress with knapsack on	D
Beneath the blaze of the mid summer sun	D
He held his spirit always still the same	L2
Patient and earnest sad and silent Paul	O
	-
We posted pickets two by two At night	H3
By turns each comrade slept and took the watch	V3
Once in September in a drenching storm	K2
Three days and nights with neither tent nor fire	K
Paul and a comrade held a picket post	T4
The equinox raged madly Chilling winds	U4
In angry gusts roared from the northern hills	V4
Dashing the dismal rain clouds into showers	M4
That fell in torrents over all the land	L
In camp the soldiers crouched in dripping tents	W4
Or shivered by the camp fires I was ill	I
And gladly sought the shelter of a hut	X4
Orders were strict and often hard to bear	S
Nor tents nor fire upon the picket posts	Y4
Cold rations and a canopy of storms	Z4
I pitied Paul and would have called him in	D
But that I had no man to take his place	A2
Nor did I know he took upon himself	E3
A double task His comrade on the post	T4
Was ill and so he made a shelter for him	H2
With his own blankets and a bed within	D
And took the watch of both upon himself	E3
And on the third night near the dawn of day	M
In rubber cloak stole in upon the post	T4
A pompous major on the nightly round	Z2
Unchallenged All fatigued and drenched with rain	D
Still on his post with rifle in his hand	L
Against a sheltering elm Paul stood and slept
Muttering of death the brutal major stormed
Then pitiless pricked the comrade with his sword	W2
And from his shelter drove him to the watch	V3
Burning with fever There Paul interposed	W2
And said	W2
	-
'I ask no mercy at your hands	R
I shall not whimper but my comrade here	P
Is ill of fever I have stood his watch	V3
Sir if a human heart beats in your breast	W2
Send him to camp or he will surely die '	-
	-
The pompous brute vaingloriously great	W2
In straps and buttons haughtily silenced Paul	O
Hand bound and sent him guarded to the camp
And the poor comrade shivering stood the watch	V3
Till dawn of day and I was made aware	S
Among the true were some vainglorious fools
Called by the fife and drum from native mire
To lord and strut in shoulder straps and buttons	C
Scrubs born to brush the boots of gentlemen	D
By sudden freak of fortune found themselves
Masters of better men and lorded it	W2
As only base and brutish natures can	D
Braves on parade and cowards under fire	K
	-
I interceded in my Paul's behalf
Else he had suffered graver punishment	W2
But as himself for mercy would not beg
'A stubborn boy ' our bluff old colonel said	W2
To extra duty for a month he went	W2
Unmurmuring storm or shine When the cold rain	D
Poured down most pitiless Paul drenched and wan	D
Guarded the baggage and the braying mules
When the hot sun at mid day blazed and burned	W2
Like the red flame on Mauna Loa's top
Withering the grass and parching earth and air	S
I often saw him knapsacked and full dressed	W2
Drilling the raw recruits at double quick
And yet he wore a patient countenance	D3
And went about his duty earnestly	N
As if it were a pleasure to obey	M
	-
The month wore off and mad disaster came	L2
Gorging the blood of heroes at Ball's Bluff
'Twas there the brave unfaltering Baker fell	H
Fighting despair between the jaws of death	B3
Quenched was the flame that fired a thousand hearts
Hushed was the voice that shook the senate walls	G
And rang defiance like a bugle blast	W2
Broad o'er the rugged mountains to the north
Fell the incessant rain till like a sea	N
Him and the deadly ambush of the foe	S2
The swollen river rolled and roared between	D
Brave Baker saw the peril but not his
The soul to shrink or falter though he saw
His death warrant in his orders Forth he led	W2
His proud brigade across the roaring chasm
Firm and unfaltering into the chasm of death	B3
From morn till mid day in a single boat	W2
Unfit by companies the fearless band	W2
Passed over the raging river then advanced	W2
Upon the ambushed foe We heard the roll	C2
Of volleys in the forest and uprose
From out the wood a cloud of battle smoke	V2
Then came the yell of foemen charging down	D
Rank upon rank and furious Hand to hand	W2
The little band of heroes flanked and pressed	W2
Fought thrice their numbers fearless Baker led	W2
In prodigies of valor front and flank	L4
Volleyed the deadly rifles in the rear
The rapid raging river rolled and roared	W2
Along the Maryland shore a mile below	S2
Eager to cross and reinforce our friends
Ten thousand soldiers lay upon their arms
And we had boats to spare In all our ranks
There was not one who did not comprehend	W2
The peril and the instant need of aid	W2
Chafing we waited orders We could see
That Baker's men were fighting in retreat	W2
For ever nearer o'er the forest rolled	W2
The smoke of battle Orders came at last	W2
And up along the shore our regiment ran	D
Eager to aid our comrades but too late	W2
Baker had fallen in the battle front	W2
He fought like Spartan and like Spartan fell	H
Defiant clutching at the throat of fate	W2
Their leader lost confusion followed fast	W2
Wild panic and red slaughter swept the field	W2
Powerless to saves we saw the farther shore	A
Covered with wounded and wild fugitives
Our own defeated and defenseless friends
Shattered and piled with wounded men the boat	W2
Pushed off to brave the river while the foe	S2
Pressed on the charge with fury and refused	W2
Mercy to the vanquished Officers and men	D
Cheating the savage foemen of their spoils
Their flags and arms into the gurgling depths
Despairing hurled and following plunged amain	D
As numerous as the wild aquatic flocks
That float in autumn on Lake Nepigon	D
The heads of swimmers moved upon the flood	W2
And still upon the shore a Spartan few	W
Shoulder to shoulder back to back as one	D
Amid the din and clang of clashing steel	K3
Surrounded held the swarming foes at bay	M
As in the pre historic centuries
Unnumbered ages ere the Pyramids
Whereof we read on pre diluvian bones
And fretted flints in excavated caves
When savage men abode in rocky dens
And wrought their weapons from the fiery flint	W2
And clothed their tawny thighs in lion skins
Before the mouth of some well guarded cave
Where smoked the savory flesh of mammoth came	L2
The great cave bear unbidden to the feast	W2
Around the monster swarm the brawny men	D
Wielding with sinewy arms and savage cries
Their flinty spears and tomahawks of stone	D
Erect old bruin growls upon his foes
And swings with mighty power his ponderous paws
Woe unto him who feels the crushing blow	S2
Till bleeding from an hundred wounds and blind	W2
With sudden plunge he falls at last and dies
Amid the shouts of his wild enemies
So fought the Spartan few till one by one	D
They fell surrounded by a wall of foes
The river boiled beneath the storm of lead	W2
Weighed down with wounded comrades many sunk
But more went down with bullets in their heads
O it was pitiful The outstretched hands
Of men that erst had faced the battle storm	K2
Unshaken grasping now in wild despair	S
Wrung cries of pity from us Vain our fire	K
The range too long it fell upon our friends
At which the foemen yelled their mad delight	W2
A storm of bullets poured upon the boat	W2
Mangling the mangled on her till at last	W2
Shattered and over laden suddenly
She made a lurch to leeward and went down	D
	-
A shallow boat lay moored upon the shore	A
Our gallant Colonel called for volunteers
In mercy's name to man it and push out	W2
But all could see the peril Stout the heart	W2
Would dare to face the raging flood and fire	K
And to his call responded not a man	D
Save Paul and one who perished at the helm
They went as if at bugle call to drill	I
Their comrades said 'They never will return '	-
Stoutly and steadily Paul rowed the boat	W2
Athwart the turbid river's sullen tide	W2
And reached the wounded struggling in the flood	W2
Bravely they worked away and lifted in	D
The helpless till the boat would hold no more	A
Others they helped to holds upon the rails
Then pulled away the over laden craft	W2
We cheered them from the shore The maddened foe	S2
With furious volleys answered hitting oft	W2
The little craft of mercy hands anon	D
Let go their holds and sunk into the deep
And in that storm Paul's gallant comrade fell	H
Trimming his craft with caution Paul could make
But little headway with a single oar	A
Clutched in despair and madly wrenched away	M
By drowning souls the other Firm and cool
Paul stood unscathed then fell a sudden shower	K
That broke his bended oar stem at the blade	W2
Down to the brink we crept and stretched our hands
And shouted 'Overboard Paul and save yourself '	-
	-
He stood a moment as if all were lost	W2
Then caught the rope and stretching forth his hand	W2
Waved to the foe and plunged into the flood	W2
Slowly he towed the clumsy craft and swam
Down drifting with the rapid rolling stream
Cheering him on adown the shore we ran	D
The current lent its aid and bore him in	D
Toward us and beyond the range at last	W2
Of foemen's fire he safely came to land	W2
Mooring his boat amid a storm of cheers
	-
Confined in hospital three days he lay	M
Fatigued and feverous but tender hands
Nursed and restored him Our old Colonel came	L2
And thanked him patting Paul paternally	M
And praised his daring 'My brave boy ' he said	W2
'Had I a regiment of such men by Jove	S2
I'd hew a path to Richmond and to fame '	-
Paul made reply and in his smile and tone	D
Mingled a touch of sarcasm
	-
'Thank you sir	K
But let me add I fear the wary foe	S2
Would nab your regiment napping on the field	W2
You have forgotten Colonel not so fast	W2
I am the man that slept upon his post '	-
Our bluff old Colonel laughed and turned away	M
Ten minutes later came his kind reply	M
A basketful of luxuries from his mess
	-
Paul marched and fought and marched and fought again	D
Patient and earnest through the bootless toils
And fiery trials of that dread campaign	D
Upon the Peninsula 'Twas fitly called	W2
'Campaign of Battles ' Aye it sorely pierced	W2
The scarred and bleeding nation and drew blood	W2
Deep from her vitals till she shook and reeled	W2
Like some huge giant staggering to his fall	M
Blinded with blood yet struggling with his soul	M
And stretching forth his ponderous brawny arms
Like Samson in the Temple to o'erwhelm
And crush his mocking enemies in his fall	M
	-
Ah Malvern you remember Malvern Hill	M
That night of dreadful butchery Round the top
Of the entrenched summit parked and aimed	W2
Blazed like Vesuvius when he bellows fire	K
And molten lava into the midnight heavens
An hundred crashing cannon and the hill	M
Shook to the thunder of the mighty guns
As ocean trembles to the bursting throes
Of submarine volcanoes and the shells
From the embattled gun boats fiery fiends
Shrieked on the night and through the ether hissed	W2
Like hell's infernals Line supporting line	D
From base to summit round the blazing hill	M
Our infantry was posted Crowned with fire	K
And zoned by many a burning blazing belt	W2
From head to foot and belching sulphurous flames
The embattled hill appeared a raging fiend	W2
The Lucifer of hell let loose to reign	D
Over a world wrapt in the final fires
	-
In solid columns massed our frenzied foes
Beat out their life against the blazing hill	M
Broke and re formed and madly charged again	D
And thundered like the storm lashed furious sea
Beating in vain against the solid cliffs
Foremost in from our veteran regiment	W2
Breasted the brunt of battle but we bent	W2
Beneath the onsets as the red hot bar	F3
Bends to the sledge until our furious foes
Mown as the withered prairie grass is mown	D
By wild October fires fell back and left	W2
A field of bloody agony and death	B3
About the base and victory on the hill	M
	-
I lost a score of riflemen that night	W2
My first lieutenant his last battle over	K
Lay cut in twain upon the battle line	D
With lantern dim wide o'er the slaughter field	W2
I searched at midnight for my wounded men	D
But chiefly searched for Paul An hour or more	A
I sought among the groaning and the dead	W2
Stooping and to the dim light turning up
The ghastly faces till at last I found	W2
Him whom I sought and on the outer line	D
Feet to the foe and silent face to heaven	D
Death pale and bleeding from a ragged wound	W2
Pleading with feeble voice to let him be
And die upon the field we bore him thence
And tenderly his comrades carried him
Sheltered with blankets on the weary march	X
At dead of night in dismal storm begun	D
We made a stand at Harrison's and there	S
With careful hands we laid him on a cot	W2
Now I had learned to prize the noble boy	Z
My heart was touched with pity Patiently
I watched o'er Paul and bathed his fevered brow	A4
And pressed the cooling sponge upon his lips
And washed his wound and gave him nourishment	W2
'Twas all in vain the surgeon said I felt	W2
That I could save him and I kept my watch	V3
A rib was crushed beneath it one could see
The throbbing vitals torn as we supposed	W2
But found unwounded In his feverish sleep
He often moaned and muttered mysteries
And dreaming spoke in low and tender tones
As if some loved one sat beside his cot	W2
I questioned him and sought the secret key
To solve his mystery but all in vain	D
A month of careful nursing turned the scale	M
And he began to gain upon his wound	W2
Propt in his cot one evening as he sat	W2
And I sat by him thus I questioned him
'There is a mystery about your life	S2
That I would gladly fathom Paul I think
You well may trust me and I fain would hear	P
The story of your life right well I know	D
There is a secret sorrow in your heart '	-
	-
He turned his face and fixed his lustrous eyes
Upon mine own inquiringly and held	W2
His gaze upon me till his vacant stare	S
Told me full well his thoughts had wandered back	Y2
Into the depth of his own silent soul	M
Then he looked down and sadly smiled and said	W2
	-
'Captain I have no history not one page
My book of life is but a blotted blank	L4
Let it be sealed I would not open it	W2
Even to one who saved a worthless life	S2
Only to add a few more leaves in blank	L4
To the blank volume All that I now am
I offer to my country If I live	S2
And from this cot walk forth 'twill only be
To march and fight and march and fight again '	-
Until a surer aim shall bring me down	D
Where care and kindness can no more avail	M
Under our country's flag a soldier's death	B3
I hope to die and leave no name behind	W2
My only wish is this for what I am
Or have been or have hoped to be is now	A4
A blank misfortune I will say no more '	-
	-
I questioned Paul and pressed him further still	M
To tell his story but he only shook
His head in silence sadly and lay back	Y2
And closed his eyes and whispered 'All is blank '	-
That night he muttered often in his sleep
I could not catch the sense of what he said	W2
I caught a name that he repeated oft	W2
Pauline so softly whispered that I knew	D
She was the blissful burden of his dreams
	-
Two moons had waxed and waned and Paul arose
Came to the camp and shared my tent and bed	W2
While in the hospital he helpless lay	M
To him unknown and as the choice of all	M
Came his promotion to the vacant rank	L4
Of him who fell at Malvern But alas
Say what we would he would not take the place
To us who importuned him he replied	W2
'Comrades and friends I did not join your ranks
For honor or for profit All I am
A wreck perhaps of what I might have been	D
I freely offer in our country's cause
And in her cause it is my wish to serve	S2
A private soldier I aspire to naught	W2
But victory and there be better men	D
Braver and hardier such should have the place '	-
	-
His comrades cheered but Paul methought was sad	W2
One evening as he sat upon his couch
Communing with himself as he was wont	W2
I stood before him looking in his face
I said 'Pauline her name is then Pauline '	-
All of a sudden up he rose amazed	W2
And looked upon me with such startled eyes
That I was pained and feared that I had done	D
A wrong to him whom I had learned to love	S2
Then he sat down upon his couch and groaned	W2
Pressing his hand upon his wound and said	W2
'Captain I pray you tell me truthfully
Wherefore you speak that name '	-
	-
I told him all	M
That I had heard him mutter in his dreams
He listened calmly to the close and said	W2
'My friend if you have any kind regard	W2
For me who suffer more than you may know	D
I pray you utter not that name again '	-
And thereupon he turned and hid his face
	-
There was a mystery I might not fathom
There was a history I might not hear	P
Nor could I further press that saddened heart	W2
To pour its secret sorrow in my ears
Thereafter Paul was tenant of my tent	W2
Sat at my mess and slept upon my couch
Save when his duty called him from my side	W2
And not a word escaped his lips or mine	D
About his secret yet how oft I found	W2
My eyes upon him and my bridled tongue	Q
Prone to a question but that solemn face
Forbade me and he wore his mystery
	-
At that stern battle on Antietam's banks
Where gallant Hooker led the fierce attack	Y2
Paul bore a glorious part Our starry flag	T2
Before a whirlwind of terrific fire	K
Advancing proudly on the foe went down	D
Grim death and pale faced panic seized the ranks
Paul caught the flag and waving it aloft	W2
Rallied our regiment He came out unscathed	W2
	-
At Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville he fought	W2
Grim in disaster bravest in defeat	W2
He leaped not into danger without cause
Nor shrunk he from it though a gulf of fire	K
When duty bade him face it All his aim
To win the victory applause and praise
He almost hated grimly he endured	W2
The fulsome flattery of his comrades nerved	W2
By his calm courage up to manlier deeds
	-
I saw him angered once if one might call	M
His sullen silence anger as by night	W2
Across the Rappahannock from the field	W2
Where brave and gallant 'Stonewall' Jackson fell	M
With hopeless hearts and heavy steps we marched	W2
Such sullen wrath on other human face
I never saw in all those bloody years
One evening after as he read to me
The fulsome General Order of our Chief	S2
Congratulating officers and men	D
On their achievements in the late defeat	W2
His handsome face grew rigid as he read	W2
And as he closed down like a thunder clap	G4
Upon the mess chest fell his clinched fist	W2
'Fit pap for fools ' he said 'an Iron Duke
Had ground the Southern legions into dust	W2
Or by the gods the field of Chancellorsville	M
Had furnished graves for ninety thousand men ' B
	-
That dark disaster sickened many a soul	M
Stout hearts were sad and cowards cried for peace
The vulture perched hard by the eagle's crag
Loud cawed his fellows from afar to feast	W2
Ill omened bird his carrion cries were vain	D
Again our veteran eagles plumed their wings
And forth he fled from Montezuma's shores
A dastard flight betraying unto death	B3
Him whom he dazzled with a bauble crown	D
Just retribution followed swift and sure
Germania's eagles plucked him at Sedan	D
A gloomy month wore off and then the news
That Lee emboldened by his late success
Had poured his legions upon Northern soil	M
Rung through the camps and thrilled the mighty heart	W2
Of the Grand Army Louder than the roar	A
Of brazen cannon on the battle field	W2
Then rose and rolled our thunder rounds of cheers
	-
B Hooker had men at Chancellorsville	M
	-
We saw the dawn of victory we should meet	W2
Our wary foe upon familiar soil	M
We cheered the news we cheered the marching orders
We cheered our brave commander till the tears
Ran down his cheeks Up from its sullen gloom
Leaped the Grand Army as if God had writ	W2
With fiery finger 'thwart the vault of heaven	D
A solemn promise of swift victory
	-
We marched As rolls the deep resistless flood	W2
Of Mississippi when the rains of June	D
Have swelled his thousand northern fountain lakes
Above their barriers rolls with restless roar	A
Anon through rock built gorges and anon	D
Down through the prairied valley to the sea
Gleaming and glittering in the summer sun	D
By field and forest on his winding way	M
So stretched and rolled the mighty column forth
Winding among the hills and pouring out	W2
Along the vernal valleys so the sheen	D
Of moving bayonets glittered in the sun	D
And as we marched there rolled upon the air	S
Up from the vanguard corps a choral chant	W2
Feeble at first and far and far away	M
But gathering volume as it rolled along
And regiment after regiment joined the choir	K
Until an hundred thousand voices swelled	W2
The surging chorus and the solid hills
Shook to the thunder of the mighty song
And ere it died away along the line	D
The hill tops caught the chorus rolled away	M
From peak to peak the pealing thunder chant	W2
Clear as the chime of bells on Sabbath morn	D
	-
'John Brown's body lies moldering in the grave	S2
John Brown's body lies moldering in the grave	S2
John Brown's body lies moldering in the grave	S2
But his soul is marching on	D
Glory Glory Halleluia	M
Glory Glory Halleluia	M
Glory Glory Halleluia	M
His soul is marching on '	-
	-
And far away	M
The mountains echoed and re echoed still	M
'Glory Glory Halleluia	M
Glory Glory Halleluia	M
Glory Glory Halleluia	M
His soul is marching on '	-
	-
Until the winds
Bore the retreating echoes southward far	F3
And the dull distance murmured in our ears
	-
Fast by the field where gallant Baker fell	M
We crossed the famous river and advanced	W2
To Frederick There a transitory cloud	W2
Gloomed the Grand Army Hooker was relieved	W2
Fell from command at victory's open gate	W2
The dashing daring soul inspiring chief	S2
The idol of his soldiers and they mourned	W2
He had his faults they were not faults of heart	W2
His gravest fiery valor Since that day	M
The self same fault or virtue crowned a chief	S2
With laurel plucked on rugged Kenesaw
Envy it was that wrought the hero's fall	M
Envy with hydra heads and serpent tongues
Hissed on the wolfish clamors of the Press
O fickle Fortune how thy favors fall	M
Like rain upon the just and the unjust	W2
Throughout the army as the soldiers read	W2
The farewell order gloomy murmurs ran	D
But our new chieftain cheered our drooping hearts
	-
That Meade would choose his battle ground we knew	D
And if not his the gallant dash and dare	S
That on Antietam's bloody battle field	W2
Snatched victory from defeat our faith was firm
That he would fight to win and hold the reins
Firmly in hand nor sacrifice our lives
In wild assaults and fruitless daring deeds
	-
From Taneytown at mid day on the hills
Of Gettysburg we heard the cannon boom
Our gallant Hancock rode full speed away	M
We under Gibbon swiftly following him
At midnight camped on Cemetery Hill	M
Sharp the initial combat of the grand	W2
On coming battle and the sulphurous smoke
Hung in blue wreaths above the silent vale	M
Between two hostile armies mightier far	F3
Than met upon the field of Marathon	D
Or where the proud Carthago bowed to Rome
Hope of the North and Liberty the one	D
Pride of the South the other On the hills
A rolling range of rugged broken hills
Stretching from Round Top northward bending off	S2
And butting down upon a silver stream
In open field our veteran regiments lay	M
Facing our battle line and parallel	M
Beyond the golden valley to the west	W2
Lay Seminary Ridge a crest of hills
Covered with emerald groves and fields of gold	W2
Ripe for the harvest on this rolling range
As numerous as the swarming ocean fowl	M
That perch in squadrons on some barren isle	M
Far in the Arctic sea when summer's sun	D
With slanting spears invades the icy realm
The Southern legions lay upon their arms
As countless as the winter evening stars
That glint and glow above the frosted fields
Twinkled and blazed upon that crest of hills
The camp fires of the foe Two mighty hosts
Ready and panoplied for deadliest war	A
And eager for the combat where the prize
Of victory was empire for the foe	D
An empire borne upon the bended backs
Of toiling slaves in millions but for us
An empire grounded on the rights of man	D
Lay on their arms awaiting innocent morn	D
To light the field for slaughter to begin	D
	-
Silent above us spread the dusky heavens
Silent below us lay the smoky vale	M
Silent beyond the dreadful crest of hills
Anon the neigh of horse a sentry's call	M
Or rapid hoof beats of a flying steed	W2
Bearing an aid and orders broke the dread	W2
Portentous silence I was worn and slept	W2
	-
The call of bugles wakened me The dawn	D
Was stealing softly o'er the shadowy land	W2
And morning grew apace Broad in the east	W2
Uprose above the crest of hazy hills
Like some broad shield by fabled giant borne	D
The golden sun and flashed upon the field	W2
Ripe for the harvest stood the golden grain	D
Nodding on gentle slopes and dewy hills
Ready for the harvest death's grim reapers stood	W2
Waiting the signal with impatient steel	M
And morning passed and mid day Here and there	S
The crack of rifles on the picket line	D
Or boom of solitary cannon broke
The myriad voiced and dreadful monotone	D
So fled the anxious hours until the hills
Sent forth their silent shadows to the east	W2
And then their batteries opened on our left	W2
Advanced into the valley All along
The rolling crest of Seminary Ridge
Rolled up the smoke of cannon Answered then	D
The grim artillery on our chain of hills'
And heaven was hideous with the bellowing boom
The whiz of shot the infernal shrieks of shells
Down from the hills their charging columns came
A glittering mass of steel As when the snow	D
Piled by an hundred winters on the peak
Of cloud robed Bernard thunders down the cliffs
Nor rocks nor forests stay the mighty mass
And men and flocks in terror fly the death	B3
So thundering fell the columns of the foe	D
Crushing through Sickles' corps in front and flank
And roaring onward like a mighty wind	W2
They rushed for Little Round Top rugged hill	M
Key to our left and center all exposed	W2
Manned by a broken battery half unmanned	W2
But Hancock saw the peril On stalwart steed	W2
Foam flecked wide nostriled panting like a hound	W2
That stalwart soldier Spartan to the soles
Came dashing down where prone along the ridge
Upon the right our sheltered regiment lay	M
'By the left flank forward double quick ' We sprang
And dashed for Little Round Top formed our line	D
Flanking the broken battery Up the slope
Like frightened sheep when howling wolves pursue	D
Fled Sickles' men in panic hard behind	W2
On came the Rebel columns Hat in hand	W2
Waving and shouting to his eager corps	A
Rode gallant Longstreet leading on the foe	D
	-
Where yonder field wall bounds the trampled wheat	W2
By grove and meadow see among the trees
Their bayonets gleam advancing Line on line	D
Column on column in the field beyond	W2
Their hurrying ranks crowd glittering on and on	D
High at the head their flaunting colors fly	M
High o'er the roar their wild triumphant yell	M
Shrills like the scream of panthers
	-
Hancock's voice
Rang down our lines above the cannons' roar	A
'Advance and take those colors' C Adown the slope
Like Bengal tigers springing at the hounds
We sprang and met them at the border wall	M
Muzzle to muzzle steel to steel we met	W2
And fought like Romans and like Romans fell	M
Even as a cyclone growling thunder roars
Down through a dusky forest and its path
Is strown with broken and uprooted pines
Promiscuous piled in broad and broken swaths
So crashed our volleys through their serried ranks
Mowing great swaths of death yet on and on	D
Closing the gaps and yelling like the fiends
That Dante heard along the gulf of hell	M
Still came our furious foes A cloud of smoke
Dense sulphurous stifling covered all our ranks
Our steady deadly rifles crackled still	M
And still their crashing volleys rolled and roared	W2
Our rifles blazed upon the blaze below	D
The blaze below upon the blaze above	S2
And in the blaze the buzz of myriad bees
Whose stings were deadlier than the Libyan asp
Five times our colors fell five times arose
Defiant flapping on the broken wall	M
	-
C These are the very words used by General Hancock on this occasion	D
	-
We hold the perilous breach on either hand	W2
Our foes out flank us leap the sheltering wall	M
And pour their deadly enfilading fire	K
God shield our shattered ranks God help us
	-
Ho	D
'Stars and Stripes' on the right Hurra Hurra	K
The Green Mountain Boys to our aid Hurra Hurra	K
Cannon roar down on the left Our batteries are there	K
Hurling hot hell fire' See like sickled corn	D
The close ranked foemen fall in toppling swaths
But still with hurried steps and steady steel	M
They close the gaps like madmen they press on	D
With one wild yell they rush upon the wall	M
Lo from our lines a sheet of crackling fire	K
Scorches their grimy faces back they reel	M
And tumble down and down a writhing mass
Of slaughter and defeat	W2
	-
Leaped on the wall	M
A thousand Blues and swung their caps in air	K
Thundering their wild Hurra above the roar	K
And crash of cannon victory was ours
Back to his crest of hills the baffled foe	D
Reluctant turned and fled the storm of death	B3
	-
The smoke of battle floated from the field	W2
And lo the woodside piled with slaughter heaps
And lo the meadow dotted with the slain	D
And lo the ranks of dead and dying men	D
That fighting fell behind the broken wall	M
	-
Only a handful of my men remained	W2
The rest lay dead or wounded on the field	W2
Nor skulked their captain but by grace was spared	W2
Behold the miracle This Bible holds
Embedded in its leaves the Rebel lead	W2
Aimed at my heart But here a scratch and there	K
Not worth the mention where so many fell	M
Paul foremost ever in the deadly hail	M
As if protected by a shield unseen	D
Escaped unscathed	W2
	-
We camped upon the hill	M
Night hovered o'er us on her dusky wings
Then all along our lines upon the hills
Blazed up the evening camp fires Facing us
Beyond the smoke robed valley sparkled up
A chain of fires on Seminary Ridge
A hum of mingled voices filled the air	K
As when upon the vast hoarse moaning sea
And all along the rock built somber shore	K
Murmurs the menace of the coming storm
The muttering of the tempest from afar	K
The plash and seethe of surf upon the sand	W2
The roll of distant thunder in the heavens
Unite and blend in one prevailing voice
So rose the mingled murmurs of our camps
So rose the groans and moans of wounded men	D
Along the slope and valley and so rolled	W2
From yonder frowning parallel of hills
The muttered menace of our baffled foes
And so from camp to camp and hill to hill	M
Rolled the deep mutter and the dreadful moan	D
Of an hundred thousand voices blent in one	D
	-
That night a multitude of friends and foes
Slept soundly but they slept to wake no more	K
But few indeed among the living slept	W2
We lay upon our arms and courted sleep
With open eyes and ears the fears and hopes
That centered in the half fought battle held	W2
The balm of slumber from our weary limbs
Anon the rattle of the random fire	K
Broke on our drowsy ears and startled us
As one is startled by some horrid dream
Whereat old veterans muttered in their sleep
	-
Midnight had passed and I lay wakeful still	M
When Paul arose and sat upon the sward	W2
He said 'I cannot sleep unbidden thoughts
That will not down crowd on my restless brain	D
Captain I know not how but still I know	D
That I shall see but one more sunrise Morn	D
Will bring the clash of arms to morrow's sun	D
Will look upon unnumbered ghastly heaps
And gory ranks of dead and dying men	D
And ere it sink beyond the western hills
Up from this field will roll a mighty shout	W2
Victorious echoed over all the land	W2
Proclaiming joy to freemen everywhere	K
And I shall fall I cannot tell you how	A4
I know it but I feel it in my soul	M
I pray that death may spare me till I hear	K
Our shout of Victory rolling o'er these hills
Then will I lay me down and die in peace '	-
	-
I lightly said 'Sheer superstition Paul	M
I'll wager a month's pay you'll live to fight	W2
A dozen battles yet They ill become
A gallant soldier on the battle field	W2
Such grandam superstitions You have fought	W2
Ever like a hero do you falter now '	-
	-
'Captain ' he said 'I shall not falter now	A4
But gladlier will I hail the rising sun	D
Death has no terror for a heart like mine	D
Say what you may and call it what you will	M
I know that I shall fall to rise no more	K
Before the sunset of the coming day	M
If this be superstition still I know	D
If this be fear it will not hold me back '	-
I answered	W2
	-
'Friend I hope this prophecy
Will prove you a false prophet but my Paul	M
Have you no farewells for your friends at home
No message for a nearer dearer one '	-
	-
'None there is none I knew in other days
Knows where or what I am So let it be
If there be those not many who may care	K
For one who cares so little for himself	S2
Surely my soldier name in the gazette	W2
Among the killed will bring no pang to them
And then he laid himself upon the sward	W2
Perhaps he slept I know not for fatigue
O'ercame me and I slept	W2
	-
The picket guns
At random firing wakened me The morn	D
Came stealing softly o'er the somber hills
Dark clouds of smoke hung hovering o'er the field	W2
Blood red as risen from a sea of blood	W2
The tardy sun as if in dread arose
And hid his face in the uprising smoke
As when the pale moon envious of the glow	D
And gleam and glory of the god of day	M
Creeps in by stealth between the earth and him
Eclipsing all his glory and the green	D
Of hills and dales is changed to yellowish dun	D
So fell the strange and lurid light of morn	D
And as I gazed I heard the hunger cries
Of vultures circling on their dusky wings
Above the smoke hid valley then they plunged	W2
To gorge themselves upon the slaughter heaps
As at the Buddhist temples in Siam
Whereto the hideous vultures flock to feast	W2
With famished dogs upon the pauper dead	W2
	-
The day wore on Two mighty armies stood	W2
Defiant watching dreading to assault	W2
Each hoping that the other would assault	W2
And madly dash against its glittering steel	M
As in the jungles of the Chambeze
Glaring defiance with their fiery eyes
Two tawny lions rival monarchs meet	W2
And fright the forest with their horrid roar	K
But ere they close in bloody combat crouch
And wait and watch for vantage in attack
So on their bannered hills the opposing hosts
Eager to grapple in the tug of death	B3
Waited and watched for vantage in the fight	W2
Noon came The fire of pickets died away	M
All eyes were turned to Seminary Ridge
For lo our sullen foemen park on park
Had massed their grim artillery on our corps	K
Hoarse voices sunk to whispers or were hushed	W2
The rugged hills stood listening in awe
So dread the ominous silence that I heard	W2
The hearts of soldiers throbbing along the line	D
	-
Up from yon battery curled a cloud of smoke
Shrieked o'er our heads a solitary shell	M
Then instantly in horrid concert roared	W2
Two hundred cannon on the Rebel hills
Hurling their hissing thunderbolts and then	D
An hundred bellowing cannon from our lines
Thundered their iron answer Horrible	M
Rolled in the heavens the infernal thunders rolled	W2
From hill to hill the reverberating roar	K
As if the earth were bursting with the throes
Of some vast pent volcano rocked and reeled	W2
As in an earthquake shock the solid hills
Anon huge fragments of the hillside rocks
And limbs and splinters of shot shattered trees
Danced in the smoke like demons hissed and howled	W2
The crashing shell storm bursting over us
Prone on the earth awaiting the grand charge
To which we knew the heavy cannonade	W2
Was but a prelude for two hours we lay	M
Two hours that tried the very souls of men	D
And many a brave man never rose again	D
Then ceased our guns to swell the infernal roar	K
The roll and crash of cannon in our front	W2
Lulled and we heard the foeman's bugle calls
Then from the slopes of Seminary Ridge
Poured down the storming columns of the foe	D
As when the rain clouds from the rim of heaven	D
Are gathered by the four contending winds
And madly whirled until they meet and clash
Above the hills and burst down pours a sea
And plunges roaring down through gorge and glen	D
So poured the surging columns of our foes
Adown the slopes and spread along the vale	M
In glittering ranks of battle line on line	D
Mile long Above the roar of cannon rose
In one wild yell the Rebel battle cry	K
Flash in the sun their serried ranks of steel	M
Before them swarm a cloud of skirmishers
That eager host the gallant Pickett leads
He right and left his fiery charger wheels
Steadies the lines with clarion voice anon	D
His outstretched saber gleaming points the way	M
As mid the myriad twinkling stars of heaven	D
Flashes the blazing comet and a column	D
Of fiery fury follows it so flashed	W2
The dauntless chief so followed his wild host	W2
	-
We waited grim and silent till they crossed	W2
The center and began the dread ascent	W2
Then brazen bugles rang the clarion call	M
Arose as one twice twenty thousand men	D
And all our hillsides blazed with crackling fire	K
With sudden crash and simultaneous roar	K
An hundred cannon opened instantly
And all the vast hills shuddered under us
Yelling their mad defiance to our fire	K
Still on and upward came our daring foes
As when upon the wooded mountain side	W2
The unchained Loki D riots and the winds
Of an autumnal tempest lash the flames
Whirling the burning fragments through the air	K
Huge blazing limbs and tops of blasted pines
Mowing wide swaths with circling scythes of fire	K
So fell our fire upon the advancing host	W2
And lashed their ranks and mowed them into heaps
Cleaving broad avenues of death Still on	D
And up they come undaunted closing up
The ghastly gaps and firing as they come	D
As if protected by the hand of heaven	D
Rides at their head their gallant leader still	M
The tempest drowns his voice his naming sword	W2
Gleams in the flash of rifles One wild yell Like
the mad hunger howl of famished wolves
Midwinter on the flying cabris' E trail	M
Swelled by ten thousand hideous voices shrills
And through the battle smoke the bravest burst	W2
Flutters their tattered banner on our wall	M
Thunders their shout of victory Appalled	W2
Our serried ranks are broken but in vain	D
On either hand our cannon enfilade	W2
Crushing great gaps along the stalwart lines
In front our deadly rifles volley still	M
Mowing the toppling swaths of daring men	D
Behold they falter Ho they break they fly	K
With one wild cheer that shakes the solid hills
Spring to the charge our eager infantry
Headlong we press them down the bloody slope
Headlong they fall before our leveled steel	M
And break in wild disorder cast away	M
Their arms and fly in panic All the vale	M
Is spread with slaughter and wild fugitives
Wide o'er the field the scattered foemen fly	K
Dread havoc and mad terror swift pursue
Till battle is but slaughter Thousands fall	M
Thousands surrender and the Southern flag
Is trailed upon the field	W2
	-
D Norse fire fiend	W2
	-
E Cabri the small fleet antelope of the northern plains so called	W2
by the Crees and half breeds
	-
The day was ours
And well we knew the worth of victory
Loud rolled the rounds of cheers from corps to corps
Comrades embraced each other iron men	D
Shed tears of joy like women men profane	D
Fell on their knees and thanked Almighty God	W2
Then 'Hail Columbia' rang the brazen horns
And all the hill tops shouted unto heaven	D
The welkin shouted to the shouting hills And	W2
heavens and hill tops shouted 'Victory '	-
	-
Night with her pall had wrapped the bloody field	W2
The little remnants of our regiment	W2
Were gathered and encamped upon the hill	M
Paul was not with them and they could not tell	M
Aught of him I had seen him in the fight	W2
Bravest of all the brave I saw him last	W2
When first the foremost foemen reached our wall	M
Thrusting them off with bloody bayonet	W2
And shouting to his comrades 'Steady men '	-
Sadly I wandered back where we had met	W2
The onset of the foe The rounds of cheers
Repeated oft still swept from corps to corps
And as I passed along the line I saw
Our dying comrades raise their weary heads
And cheer with feeble voices Even in death	B3
The cry of victory warmed their hearts again	D
Paul lay upon the ground where he had fought	W2
Fast by the flag that floated on the line	D
He slept or seemed to sleep but on his brow	A4
Sat such a deadly pallor that I feared	W2
My Paul would never march and fight again	D
I raised his head he woke as from a dream
I said 'Be quiet you are badly hurt	W2
I'll call a surgeon we will dress your wound '	-
He gravely said	W2
	-
'Tis vain for I have done	D
With camp and march and battle Ere the dawn	D
Shall I be mustered out of your command	W2
And mustered into the Grand Host of heaven '	-
	-
I sought a surgeon on the field and found	W2
With me he came and opened the bloody blouse
Felt the dull pulse and sagely shook his head	W2
A musket ball had done its deadly work
There was no hope he said the man might live	S2
A day perchance but had no need of him
I called his comrades and we carried him
Stretched on his blankets gently to our camp
And laid him by the camp fire As the light	W2
Fell on Paul's face he took my hand and said	W2

Hanford Lennox Gordon

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5. Robert Burns(986 poems)
6. Edgar Albert Guest(945 poems)
7. Thomas Moore(849 poems)
8. Robert Service(831 poems)