“The taunts to tribute, the abuse to praise,
And took both with the same unwavering mood:
Till, as he came to light, from darkling days,
And seemed to touch the goal from where he stood,
“A felon hand, between the goal and him,
Reached from behind his back, a trigger pressed,—
And those perplexed and patient eyes grew dim,
Those gaunt, long-laboring limbs were laid to rest!
“Beside this corpse, that bears for winding sheet
The Stars and Stripes he lived to rear anew,