I paused a moment and gave him a drink.
He murmured his mother’s name I think,
And death came with it and closed his eyes.”
’Twas a victory; yes, but it cost us dear—
For that company’s roll, when called at night,
Of a hundred men who went into the fight
The number was few that answered “Here!”
THE BATTLE-FIELD.
This striking poem is an American classic. Two lines alone, if there were no others, are enough to give it immortal fame: