Classic Poem

FAR in a lovely vale away,
Where Switzerland's blithe shepherds stray;—
Before the tyrant Gessner fell
Beneath the sword of William Tell;—
Within a green and shady wood
A peasant's cot and garden stood.
Beyond it was a lofty mountain,
Beside it was a crystal fountain;
And thence, beside the garden alley,
A stream meander'd through the valley.
Along its banks the flocks would graze;
And oft the passing stranger gaze,
To see the shepherd with his crook,
Attend the sheep beside the brook.
It was a shepherd own'd the cot;—
In truth it was a lovely spot;
The garden was bedeck'd with flow'rs;
The vines had clamber'd o'er the bow'rs;—
And there, beside that stream of water,
Himself, and wife, and only daughter
Had lived contented and alone,
By all, save shepherd friends, unknown.
Fair Ellen was a lovely child,
In manners sweet, in temper mild;
In conversation always gay,
And quick her parents to obey;
Her conduct was by all approved,
And all the youth who saw her loved.
Young Henri was a noble youth,
His heart was disciplined in truth;
His courage oft had been the theme
Of all the hamlets on the stream.
His father lived beneath the hill,
His flocks were pastured by the rill,—
And Henri oftentimes would roam
To spend an hour at Ellen's home.
Her simple song and artless smile
Would oft his tedious hours beguile,
Until at length, in maiden pride,
She gave her vow to be his bride.
It was a glorious day of spring,
When wood and vale were blossoming;
The sun was shining clear and bright,
On Mount Bernhardin's lofty height;
Its peak, for ever white with snow,
Like burnish'd silver shone below:
And all along its craggy side
The lofty glaciers, steep and wide,
Of massive ice a mighty load,
O'erhung young Henri's fair abode:—
When Henri, sitting by his sheep,
Watching Bernhardin's dizzy steep,
Beheld,—oh direful was the day!—
Beheld the avalanche give way,
Break from the hill, and downward dash,
With headlong speed, and horrid crash;
And taking, with resistless force,
His father's cottage in its course,
Crush it to atoms, and amain
Move thundering onward o'er the plain!
With heart distracted at the view,
Swift tow'rd his cottage Henri flew;
He found his father's mangled form,
Bereft of life, yet bleeding—warm;
His only brother buried deep
Beneath that crush'd and ruin'd heap.
With tears of anguish Henri gave,
All that remain'd to give, a grave;
Then slowly turning down the dell,
To Ellen bade a wild farewell;
And fled afar to seek relief,
Oblivion of his speechless grief.
But now the tyrant Gessner's band
Were ravaging fair Switzerland;
And many a chief, by many a river,
At midnight barb'd the teeming quiver;
And many a freeman aimed his dart
In secret at the tyrant's heart.
Young Henri sought the patriot brave,
“And rush'd to glory or the grave.”
When night and darkness wrapt the sky
And torrents fell, and winds were high,
And Boden See's wide foaming shore
Echoed the billow's fearful roar,—
The patriot heroes, rushing down,
Regardless of the tempest's frown,
Would storm the unsuspecting posts,
Where slept the tyrant's fated hosts,
And deadly vengeance dealt the blow
Which laid the hostile cowards low.
Anon there came a direful tale
Of threaten'd crimes in Ellen's vale;
Of Henri's fame and Gessner's wrath,
Of flames, and robbery, and death.
Swift as the wind, a trusty band,
Marshall'd at Henri's loved command,
Sped over mountain, stream and fen,
O'er glacier steep and rocky glen,
To save her life, or share the lot
Of Ellen and her father's cot.
They reach'd the vale, they saw afar
The raging flames, proclaiming war;
They heard the bell toll out the knell,
While echo caught the solemn swell,
And mingled it with plaintive cries,
Which rose from human sacrifice!
Young Henri saw, and spurr'd his steed;—
“On, soldiers, on! speed, horsemen, speed!”
With eyes of fire, and visage fell,
Which flash'd with rage unspeakable,
With buckler raised and sabre drawn,
“Speed, horsemen, speed! on, soldiers, on!
Charge, warriors, charge!” then, vaulting, sprung
The tyrant's thickest ranks among!
His sabre gleam'd, and right and left,
On every side a passage cleft;
The cowards quail'd beneath his arm,
Like reeds before the winter storm;
His trusty warriors, gather'd round,
Hew'd down the ranks, hemm'd in the ground,
Till all lay bleeding on the field,
And not a foe was left to yield.
But now advancing o'er the plain
Was heard the trumpet's joyful strain;
And notes of triumph swell'd the gale,
From troops advancing through the vale.
Loud roll'd the drum, the banners waved:
“Shepherds rejoice! your land is saved,
The days of anarchy are o'er,
The tyrant welters in his gore;
Our troops disperse, our tumults cease,
Our country now shall rest in peace!”
It was a lovely day of spring
When wood and vale were blossoming,
And birds were singing, and the trees
Yielded their perfume to the breeze;
And all the shepherds of the valley
Were ranged beside the chapel alley;
When, arm in arm, a lovely pair
Pass'd through the ranks assembled there,—
And, mid the joyful festal throng,
With solemn pray'r, and sacred song,
Knelt at the altar, side by side;
And Ellen was brave Henri's bride.