Page:Lyra heroica.djvu/228

 204 MACAULAY

At once on all her stately gates arose the answering

fires; At once the wild alarum clashed from all her reeling

spires; From all the batteries of the Tower pealed loud the

voice of fear; And all the thousand masts of Thames sent back a

louder cheer; And from the furthest wards was heard the rush of

hurrying feet, And the broad streams of pikes and flags rushed

down each roaring street ; And broader still became the blaze, and louder still

the din, As fast from every village round the horse came

spurring in. And eastward straight from wild Blackheath the

warlike errand went, And roused in many an ancient hall the gallant

squires of Kent. Southward from Surrey's pleasant hills flew those

bright couriers forth ; High on bleak Hampstead's swarthy moor they

started for the north ; And on, and on, without a pause, untired they

bounded still : All night from tower to tower they sprang; they

sprang from hill to hill : Till the proud Peak unfurled the flag o'er Darwin's

rocky dales, Till like volcanoes flared to heaven the stormy hills

of Wales,

�� �