The Horrors Of Majuba Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: AABB CDEF GGAA HHII EEAA CDJJ KKLL MMHH HHNN OOCC PQAA RRSS TTUU VVTT WWII'Twas after the great Majuba fight | A |
And the next morning at daylight | A |
Captain Macbean's men were ordered to headquarters camp | B |
So immediately Captain Macbean and his men set out on tramp | B |
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And there they were joined by the Blue Jackets and th men | C |
Who for unflinching courage no man can them condemn | D |
And that brave little band was commissioned to bury their dead | E |
And the little band numbered in all about one hundred | F |
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And they were supplied with a white flag fit emblem of death | G |
Then they started off to O'Neill's farm with bated breath | G |
Where their comrades had been left the previous night | A |
And were lying weltering in their gore oh what a horrible sight | A |
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And when they arrived at the foot of Majuba Hill | H |
They were stopped by a Boer party but they meant no ill | H |
Who asked them what they wanted without dismay | I |
And when they said their dead there was no further delay | I |
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Then the brave heroes marched on without any dread | E |
To the Hill of Majuba to collect and bury their dead | E |
And to see them climbing Majuba it was a fearful sight | A |
And much more so on a dark pitch night | A |
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And on Majuba there was a row of dead men | C |
Numbering about forty or fifty of them | D |
There were also numbers of wounded men lying on the ground | J |
And when Captain Macbean's party gazed on them their sorrow was profound | J |
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Oh heaven what a sight of blood and brains | K |
While the grass was red all o'er with blood stains | K |
Especially at the edge of the Hill where the nd men were killed | L |
'Twas there that the eyes of Macbean's party with tears filled | L |
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When they saw their dead and dying comrades in arms | M |
Who were always foremost in the fight during war's alarms | M |
But who were now lying dead on Majuba Hill | H |
And alas beyond the aid of all human skill | H |
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They then went about two hundred yards down the Hill | H |
And collected fourteen more bodies which made their blood run chill | H |
And into one grave seventy five bodies they buried there | N |
All mostly nd men who I hope are free from all care | N |
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Oh think of that gallant British band | O |
Who at Majuba made such a heroic stand | O |
And take them altogether they behaved like brave men | C |
But alas they were slaughtered like sheep in a pen | C |
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Poor fellows there were few of them left to retire | P |
Because undauntedly they faced that murderous fire | Q |
That the mighty host poured in upon them left and right | A |
From their numerous rifles day and night | A |
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The conduct of the nd was most brave throughout | R |
Which has always been the case without any doubt | R |
At least it has been the case in general with the Highland Brigade | S |
Because in the field they are the foremost and seldom afraid | S |
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And to do the British justice at Majuba they behaved right well | T |
But by overwhelming numbers the most of them fell | T |
Which I'm very sorry to relate | U |
That such a brave little band met with such a fate | U |
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The commanders and officers deserve great praise | V |
Because they told their men to hold Majuba for three days | V |
And so they did until the most of them fell | T |
Fighting nobly for their Queen and country they loved right well | T |
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But who's to blame for their fate I'm at a loss to know | W |
But I think 'twas by fighting too numerous a foe | W |
But there's one thing I know and in conclusion will say | I |
That their fame will be handed down to posterity for many a day | I |
William Topaz Mcgonagall
(1)
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