“To arms! to arms, FitzGibbon!”
Came a woman’s thrilling cry;
“Lose not a precious moment—
The foe! the foe is nigh!”
And a woman pale and weary
Burst on the startled sight;
Out from the dark awesome forest,
Out of the shadowy night.
“They come! they come, six hundred strong,
Stealing upon you here!
But I, a weak woman, tell you,
Prepare and have no fear.”
The handful of British heroes
Resolve the outpost to save,
With the aid of two hundred Indians,
Allies cunning and brave.
Still as death the line is waiting
The onset of the foe;
And the summer winds make whisper
In the foliage soft and low.
“Ready!” and each heart beat faster;
“Fire low, and without fear.”
And they fired a crashing volley,
And gave a defiant cheer.
Staggered by the deadly missiles,
That like a mighty blow,
Fell swift on the line advancing,
Fell on the astonished foe.
And for two long, desperate hours
The furious fight raged there;
Till the foemen, foiled and beaten,
Surrendered in despair.
Well done, gallant FitzGibbon!
Thy name shall live in story;
Thy daring feat of arms that day
Is wreathed with fadeless glory.
One other name my song would praise,
A patriot soul so brave,
That dared the forest’s lonely wilds
FitzGibbon’s post to save.
Noble woman! heroic soul!
We would honor thee to-day;
Thou canst not, shall not be forgot.
More lustrous is the ray
Time reflects upon thy deed.
Thy talismanic name—
Canadians, sound it through the land,
Perpetuate her fadeless fame!
THE SEA AND THE SOUL.
Oh, the sea! the sea! how it stirs my soul,
As its bright bounding billows onward roll;
Unfettered they toss their crests on high,
As if to assault the far vaulted sky.