X.
“On! On!” was still his stern exclaim;
“Confront the battery’s jaws of flame!
“Rush on the levell’d gun!
“My steel-clad cuirassiers, advance!
“Each Hulan forward with his lance,
“My Guard—my chosen—charge for France,
“France and Napoleon!”
Loud answer’d their acclaiming shout,
Greeting the mandate which sent out
Their bravest and their best to dare
The fate their leader shunn’d to share.
But He, his country’s sword and shield,
Still in the battle-front reveal’d,
Where danger fiercest swept the field,
Came like a beam of light,
In action prompt, in sentence brief—
“Soldiers, stand firm,” exclaim’d the Chief,
“England shall tell the fight!”