There was a sound of revelry by night, And Belgium"s capital had gathered then Her beauty and her chivalry; and brightThe lamps shone o"er fair women and brave men. A thousand hearts beat happily; and, when Music arose with its voluptuous swell,Soft eyes looked love to eyes which spake again. And all went merry as a marriage bell;But hush! hark! a deep sound strikes like a rising knell.
Did ye not hear it ?-No; "twas but the wind, Or the car rattling o"er the stony street;On with the dance ! let joy be unconfined !
No sleep till morn, when youth and pleasure meetTo chase the glowing hours with flying feet.
But hark !-that heavy sound breaks in once more, As if the clouds its echo would repeat;And nearer, clearer, deadlier than before!
Arm ! arm ! it is-it is-the cannon"s opening roar!
Ah ! then and there was hurrying to and fro, And gathering tears, and tremblings of distress, And cheeks all pale which, but an hour ago, Blushed at the praise of their own loveliness; And there were sudden partings, such as pressThe life from out young hearts, and choking sighs Which ne"er might be repeated; who could guess If ever more should meet those mutual eyes,Since upon night so sweet such awful morn could rise?
And there was mounting in hot haste; the steed, The mustering squadron, and the clattering car Went pouring forward with impetuous speed, And swiftly forming in the ranks of war;And the deep thunder, peal on peal afar, And near, the beat of the alarming drum Roused up the soldier ere the morning star;While thronged the citizens with terror dumb,Or whispering with white lips- " The foe ! they come ! they come ! "And, wild and high, the "Cameron"s gathering " rose ! The war-note of Lochiel, which Albyn"s hillsHave heard, and heard, too, have her Saxon foes. How in the noon of night that pibroch thrills, Savage and shrill ! But, with the breath which fillsTheir mountain-pipe, so fill the mountaineers With the fierce native daring, which instils The stirring memory of a thousand years;And Evan"s, Donald"s fame rings in each clansman"s ears !
And Ardennes waves above them her green leaves, Dewy with Nature"s tear-drops, as they pass, Grieving (if aught inanimate e"er grieves)Over the unreturning brave-alas !
Ere evening, to be trodden like the grass
Which now beneath them, but above shall grow
In its next verdure; when this fiery mass
Of living valour, rolling on the foe,
And burning with high hope, shall moulder cold and low !
Last noon beheld them full of lusty life; Last eve, in beauty"s circle proudly gay;The midnight brought the signal-sound of strife; The morn, the marshalling in arms; the day, Battle"s magnificently stern array!
The thunder-clouds close o"er it, which, when rent, The earth is covered thick with other clay,Which her own clay shall cover-heaped and pent, Rider and horse, friend, foe, in one red burial blent.
Lord Byron.
Author.-Byron (see "The Storm ").
General Notes.-Mark how swiftly the action moves through the various scenes-the happy ballroom, the alarm, the make-ready, the march to the battlefield, the conflict itself, the scene of desolation afterwards. The ball was given by the Duchess of Richmond at Brussels on the 15th of June, three days before the battle. Find the site of Waterloo on the map of Belgium. Read an account of the battle in a history text-book. The next day after the ball, battles were fought between the French and British at Quatre Bras (katr-brah) and between the French and Prussians at Ligny(leen-ye). The Cameron"s gathering was the pibroch or war-note of the Cameron Highlanders. Lochiel being the chief of the clan. "Evan"s, Donald"s " are references to Sir Evan Cameron, who fought at Killecrankie, and Donald Cameron, who fought for Prince Charlie and was wounded at Culloden (1746). Mark the confused movement in stanza 3 and the swift movement in stanza 4.