As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely, and spectral, and somber, and still.
And lol as he looks, on the belfry's height,
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!

He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns!

The hurry of hoofs in a village street,

A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark, 10 And beneath from the pebbles, in passing, a spark Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet— That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light, The fate of a nation was riding that night;

And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight, 15 Kindled the land into flame with its heat.

He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders, that skirt its edge,
20 Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of the steed as he rides.

It was twelve by the village clock

When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,

25 And the barking of the farmer's dog,
And felt the damp of the river-fog
That rises after the sun goes down.
It was one by the village clock
When he galloped into Lexington.

so He saw the gilded weathercock

Swim in the moonlight as he passed,

And the meeting-house windows, blank and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,

As if they already stood aghast

35 At the bloody work they would look upon.

When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,

And the twitter of birds among the trees
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadows brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
10 Pierced by a British musket-ball.

You know the rest. In the books you have read How the British regulars fired and fled, How the farmers gave them ball for ball, From behind each fence and farmyard wall, 15 Chasing the redcoats down the lane; Then crossing the fields to emerge again Under the trees at the turn of the road, And only pausing to fire and load.

So through the night rode Paul Revere; eo And so through the night went his cry of alarm To every Middlesex village and farm

A cry of defiance, and not of fear,

A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo forevermore!
25 For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,

In the hour of darkness and peril and need.
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
80 And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

NOTES AND QUESTIONS

For Biography, see page 163.

Discussion. 1. Read the poem through thoughtfully and be able to tell the story from this outline: (a) Understanding as to signals between Paul Revere and his friend; (b) The friend in Boston; (c) Paul Revere on the Charlestown-side of the river; (d) The ride. 2. What was Paul Revere's message? 3. Find the lines that describe the churchyard. 4. How does Longfellow make you feel the hurry of the rider? 5. What to you is the most expressive line in the poem? 6. How does the story "in the books you have read" of the battle of Lexington compare with the story in the poem? 7. Discuss Longfellow's prophecy at the end of the poem in the light of the World War. 8. How does the statement found in the Introduction, page 335, of the effect of noble deeds apply to "Paul Revere's Ride"? 9. Draw a map showing the relative positions of Boston, Charlestown, Medford, Lexington, Concord. 10. Find "Tales of a Wayside Inn" in the library copy of Longfellow's Poems; who told this tale? 11. Your Reading Club may enjoy a "Tales of a Wayside Inn" program, each member preparing part of a program similar to this: (a) The Wayside Inn (described in the first Preface); (b) The company of six guests (described in the first Preface); (c) The landlord; (d) Report of Tales read by different club-members, as "The Falcon of Ser Federigo," "King Robert of Sicily," "The Challenge of Thor," "The Birds of Killingworth," "The Bell of Atri," "The Legend Beautiful," "Emma and Eginhard"; (e) The Prefaces; (f) The Interludes; (g) The Finales. Or, you may present in dramatized form a scene from the living room of the inn, each guest in turn reading or reciting his tale. 12. Describe a series of pictures that would tell the story of this famous historic ride; where in your series would you place the picture on page 339? 13. Class reading: "The Reveille," Harte; "A Troop of the Guard," Hagedorn (in The Home Book of Verse). 14. Find in the Glossary the meaning of: grenadier; impetuous; spectral; tranquil; emerge; preface; interlude. 15. Pronounce: alder; finale.

CONCORD HYMN

RALPH WALDO EMERSON

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.

5 The foe long since in silence slept;

10

Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;

And time the ruined bridge has swept

Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set today a votive stone,

That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

Spirit! that made those freemen dare
To die, and leave their children free,

15 Bid time and nature gently spare

The shaft we raise to them and Thee.

NOTES AND QUESTIONS

For Biography, see page 71.

Historical Note. Emerson wrote this poem to celebrate the completion of the monument which marks the spot on which the battle of Concord was fought, April 19, 1775. (See page 334.) This hymn was sung at the celebration, April 19, 1836.

Discussion. 1. In what sense was the shot "heard round the world"? 2 What did this battle mean to the world? 3. For what purpose does the poet say this "votive stone" is set? 4. How does this poem help memory "to redeem the deed”? 5. In what different ways does "memory redeem the deeds" of the World War heroes? 6. Why do we observe Memorial Day? 7. In the prayer in the last stanza the poet tells us to whom the shaft is raised; which of these is greater, the “freemen" or the "Spirit”? 8. Find in the Glossary the meaning of: arched; unfurled; embattled.

I HAVE A RENDEZVOUS WITH DEATH*.

ALAN SEEGER

I have a rendezvous with Death

At some disputed barricade,

When Spring comes back with rustling shade
And apple-blossoms fill the air-

I have a rendezvous with Death

When Spring brings back blue days and fair.

It may be he shall take my hand.
And lead me into his dark land

And close my eyes and quench my breath----
10 It may be I shall pass him still.

I have a rendezvous with Death

On some scarred slope of battered hill,
When Spring comes round again this year
And the first meadow-flowers appear.

15 God knows 'twere better to be deep
Pillowed in silk and scented down,
Where love throbs out in blissful sleep,
Pulse nigh to pulse, and breath to breath,
Where hushed awakenings are dear

20 But I've a rendezvous with Death
At midnight in some flaming town,
When Spring trips north again this year;

And I to my pledged word am true—

I shall not fail that rendezvous.

*From Poems, by Alan Seeger; copyright, 1916, by Charles Scribner's Sons; used by permission of the publishers.