But ere its echoes died away upon the ear of night,
Each clansman started from his couch and armed him for the fight;
The drawbridge falls,—and, side by side, the banded heroes fly
To grapple with the pirate-horde and conquer them or die!
As eagles, on avenging wings, from proud Ben Lomond's crest
Swoop fiercely down and dash to earth the spoilers of their nest;
As lions bound upon their prey, or as the burning tide
Sweeps onward with resistless might from some volcano's side—
So rushed that gallant band of Scots, the garrison of Slaines,
Upon the Tigers of the Sea, the carnage-loving Danes.