THE STRANGE VESSEL
(Quebec, 1759)
AND no one saw, while it was dark,
The outline of a sweeping barque,
Without a flag or light;
And no one counted, one by one,
Along her decks each silent gun,
That glimmered through the night.
And far above the water's swell,
Upon a guarded citadel,
Arose the laugh of men;
But some upon the ramparts there
Felt Evil hurrying through the air,
And never laughed again.
The creak of sail, the splash of oar,
Were heard by none upon the shore;
And in the forest vale
None knew the ambush that was kept,
Nor saw a thousand men who crept
Along the narrow trail.
When day at last was breaking forth
There came two eagles flying north,
And on the morn awoke
The solemn pageantry of war,
And o'er the shining hills afar
Floated the rolling smoke.