Checked in their advance by the Voltigeurs,
Who heroically the storm endure;
Patiently, though suffering loss and pain,
Their position they proudly, sternly maintain.
By sheer numbers being nearly surrounded,
Though the foe are stunned and confounded,
’Tis a critical time at Chateauguay.
Will de Salaberry in despair give way?
No! in sterner mould is the hero cast,
And will bar the way of the foe to the last.
Ah! a clever ruse he’s adopting now,
And a smile flits over his noble brow.
He extends his buglers widely in rear,
To sound the charge and lustily cheer.
’Twas a clever thought, and a master-stroke;
On the startled ear of the foe it broke,
And, frightened, they everywhere give way—
Lost is the field, and lost is the day.
Breaking into instant, headlong retreat,
From humiliating and sore defeat,
Over the border they swiftly fly,
And the “Red Cross Banner” still floats on high.
All hail, de Salaberry! hail, Voltigeurs!
Thy fame still lives, it forever endures;
Ye sternly barred there the foe that day,
By the far-famed stream of the Chateauguay.
And redly the October sun sank low,
Flooding the world with its crimsoning glow;
And the shadows fell on the golden scene
As beautiful as e’er a poet’s dream.
And the pale, dead faces were laid away
By the murmuring stream of the Chateauguay!
And white-winged peace hovered there once more
In the fading light by the river’s shore.
THE DEEP MINES.
Delve down in the deep mines, O restless man!
Wrest from the deep mines the red, red gold;
Seize the diamonds and the precious gems;
In the deep, vast mines lies wealth untold.
Win from the deep sea, from the uttermost sea,
The hoarded treasures of Neptune’s realm.
Command thou thine own staunch, dauntless barque;
Hold the chart, and thyself guide the helm.
Quaff thou from the deep things of life, O man,
The things that make life more broad and great.
Revere the good, the noble, and true;
Grasp destiny from the hand of fate;
Chain the elements to thy chariot wheels;
Count all things subservient to thy will—
The things that ennoble assimilate,
Pure as the cool, sparkling mountain rill.
Drink thou of the deep wells of love, O man!
For life is empty without its sway;
The love of friends, and e’en our fellowman,
Make darkest night seem bright as the day.
Be kind, considerate of thy brother;
Smooth somewhat if thou canst his rugged way;
Bear each other’s burdens, battle side by side—
United ye shall surely win the day.