Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Spain, Portugal, Belgium, and Holland: Vols. XIV–XV. 1876–79.
The Maid of Saragossa
By Charles Swain (18011874)
T
As of multitudes in prayer;
There were tears of wild affright,
And the wailing of despair:
For Invasion’s gory hand
Scattered havoc o’er the land.
To the trumpet’s fierce acclaim,
To the ringing steel of foes,
And the battle-bolts of flame;
Whilst the Gallic wolves of war
Round were howling, and afar.
And pointed to the walls:
“See, the carnage hath begun,
’T is thy bleeding country calls!
Better, son, the patriot’s tomb
Than a slave’s ignoble doom.”
His time-worn brand and shield;
The pale monk closed his book,
The peasant left his field;
And daughters, e’en a scar had grieved,
Now deeds of dauntless heart achieved.
O’er the red and reeking ground,
Till the giant gates below
Burst with an earthquake sound;
And the rocking walls yawned deep,
’Neath the cannon’s shattering sweep.
A firmer, bolder band:
Again the gates were barred,
Again the walls were manned;
Again, as with prophetic sight,
The hallowed cross advanced the fight.
The still unvanquished brave,
Mid sounds that seemed the knell
Of freedom’s hopeless grave:
A hurricane, a blazing shower,
Swept shivered rampart, rock, and tower!
When Fate with Gaul combined
To quell the freeman’s power,
To crush the valiant mind,—
When e’en the last defence had died,
Who braved the storm? who stemmed the tide?
No chief of high emprise;
A maiden’s soul enshrined the flame
Which lit Hope’s darkening skies;
A maiden’s valor dealt the blow,
And stepped ’tween conquest and the foe;
Defying pain and death!
And could Napoleon’s legions shrink
Before a woman’s breath?
Could Gaul’s proud eagle, from its height,
Stoop to a mean, disastrous flight?
The chivalry of France,
And poured destruction, like a flood,
On quailing helm and lance:
Leonidas in maiden’s stole,
A woman’s breast with Curtius’ soul.
Thy deeds shall find a voice
To bid usurping tyrants rue,
And Freedom’s sons rejoice:
The loved of Time, the prized of Fame,
Spain’s noblest boast, and Gallia’s shame!