Page:Songs from the Southern Seas and Other Poems (1873).djvu/207

Rh I seized the pole, a blow came down and crushed my outstretched arm. I felt a sudden thrill of pain, but that soon passed away; And, with a devilish thirst for blood, again I joined the fray. At last we rallied all our strength, and charged o'er heaps of slain: Some fought to death; some wavered,—then fled across the plain.

"Well, boy, the rest is all confused: there was a fearful rout; I saw our troopers chase the foe, and heard their maddened shout. Then came a blank: my senses reeled, I know not how I fell; I seemed to grapple with a foe, but that I cannot tell. My mind was gone: when it came back I saw the moon on high; Around me all was still as death. I gazed up at the sky,