قراءة كتاب The Song of the Exile—A Canadian Epic
تنويه: تعرض هنا نبذة من اول ١٠ صفحات فقط من الكتاب الالكتروني، لقراءة الكتاب كاملا اضغط على الزر “اشتر الآن"
اللغة: English
الصفحة رقم: 6
known, their praise unsung.
VII.
So has it been, and so shall ever be
The man who stands to-day a shining light,
The hero who commands our fealty,
To-morrow, in oblivion's dark night,
Will be forgotten, or, on history's page,
May flicker dimly in a future age.
The man who stands to-day a shining light,
The hero who commands our fealty,
To-morrow, in oblivion's dark night,
Will be forgotten, or, on history's page,
May flicker dimly in a future age.
VIII.
Think not, ye men who seek to carve your name
On monuments of everlasting stone,
That ye can thus secure eternal fame.
Far greater deeds than yours have others done,
And greater far the harvest they have sown,
Which now ye reap, while they remain unknown.
On monuments of everlasting stone,
That ye can thus secure eternal fame.
Far greater deeds than yours have others done,
And greater far the harvest they have sown,
Which now ye reap, while they remain unknown.
IX.
As through the ages, silent and unseen,
The tiny corals work beneath the wave
And build a reef, which reef had never been
Except each coral there had found a grave;
So work the heroes of the human race,
And in their work-field find a resting place.
The tiny corals work beneath the wave
And build a reef, which reef had never been
Except each coral there had found a grave;
So work the heroes of the human race,
And in their work-field find a resting place.
X.
How vast the number of the coral shells
That form the reef! And yet of these but one
Of many thousands ever elsewhere dwells
Than on that reef; all hidden and unknown
The rest remain, and few indeed are they
Which shine as jewels at a later day.
That form the reef! And yet of these but one
Of many thousands ever elsewhere dwells
Than on that reef; all hidden and unknown
The rest remain, and few indeed are they
Which shine as jewels at a later day.
XI.
And thus have lived our heroes in the past:
The army of the brave and noble who
Have laboured uncomplaining, and at last
Have yielded up their lives; but there are few
Whose names stand forth, as worth would bid them stand,
Revered and honoured in their fatherland.
The army of the brave and noble who
Have laboured uncomplaining, and at last
Have yielded up their lives; but there are few
Whose names stand forth, as worth would bid them stand,
Revered and honoured in their fatherland.
XII.
But Canada, let not the brave Champlain
Be thus in dark oblivion forgot.
Grant him the fame he never sought to gain;
Pay him the honour that he courted not;
And on thine earliest page of history
Write large his name, not as a mystery
Be thus in dark oblivion forgot.
Grant him the fame he never sought to gain;
Pay him the honour that he courted not;
And on thine earliest page of history
Write large his name, not as a mystery
XIII.
Or name unknown—but tell his deeds abroad,
And teach thy children all that he has done
Not hard the task, and thou canst well afford
To show the gratitude that he has won
From thee; and thus thou surely wilt impart
A proud ambition in thy children's heart
And teach thy children all that he has done
Not hard the task, and thou canst well afford
To show the gratitude that he has won
From thee; and thus thou surely wilt impart
A proud ambition in thy children's heart
XIV.
To imitate the man, so true and brave,
Who laboured self-denyingly in life,
And 'neath the city's walls has found a grave,
At rest at last, and free from further strife.
Thus, as thy children knowledge of him gain,
Their hearts shall burn to emulate Champlain.
Who laboured self-denyingly in life,
And 'neath the city's walls has found a grave,
At rest at last, and free from further strife.
Thus, as thy children knowledge of him gain,
Their hearts shall burn to emulate Champlain.
XV.
I stand upon the plains of Abraham,
And, silent as I stand, a train of thought
Comes o'er me, and the spot whereon I am
Seems almost holy ground; for here was fought
That mighty battle, whose event would show
If Canada were British soil or no.
And, silent as I stand, a train of thought
Comes o'er me, and the spot whereon I am
Seems almost holy ground; for here was fought
That mighty battle, whose event would show
If Canada were British soil or no.
XVI.
Before my eyes a vision rises bright,
And, in the vision, I can clearly see
The actions re-enacted of that fight;
And grand indeed the sight appears to me.
Repictured thus, I gaze upon the scene,
And meditate again on what has been.
And, in the vision, I can clearly see
The actions re-enacted of that fight;
And grand indeed the sight appears to me.
Repictured thus, I gaze upon the scene,
And meditate again on what has been.
XVII.
Ere yet the light had broken on that morn,[B]
Before the sun had shed his rays around,
While blackest darkness heralded the dawn,
The little fleet had left its anchor-ground;
With not a lantern showing light or gleam,
It floated silently adown the stream.
Before the sun had shed his rays around,
While blackest darkness heralded the dawn,
The little fleet had left its anchor-ground;
With not a lantern showing light or gleam,
It floated silently adown the stream.
XVIII.
Within the flagship, weakened by the pain
Of recent fever, Wolfe reclining lay
Unfit to bear the war's fatigue and strain,
He yet was armed and ready for the fray.
Forgetful of his pain and suffering,
He thought but of his country and his king.
Of recent fever, Wolfe reclining lay
Unfit to bear the war's fatigue and strain,
He yet was armed and ready for the fray.
Forgetful of his pain and suffering,
He thought but of his country and his king.
XIX.
His duty bade him fight, and he would fight;
His country bade him win, and he would win
If bravery could put the foe to flight.
If courage and a sturdy heart within
Could win the day, he feared not the event;
His men were veterans on victory bent.
His country bade him win, and he would win
If bravery could put the foe to flight.
If courage and a sturdy heart within
Could win the day, he feared not the event;
His men were veterans on victory bent.
XX.
Yet, as he lay upon his couch at rest
Among his officers, he seemed to be
Prescient of his fate; for he addressed
His friends in verses from an Elegy,
And to this line a special accent gave:
"The paths of glory lead but to the grave."
Among his officers, he seemed to be
Prescient of his fate; for he addressed
His friends in verses from an Elegy,
And to this line a special accent gave:
"The paths of glory lead but to the grave."
XXI.
Foreknowledge of his fate perchance impressed
This truth upon him. Glory's path would lead
Him to the grave that day, and there at rest,
No longer pain or glory would he heed.
Full well might these
This truth upon him. Glory's path would lead
Him to the grave that day, and there at rest,
No longer pain or glory would he heed.
Full well might these