Page:Southern Life in Southern Literature.djvu/286

268

MARGARET JUNKIN PRESTON

[Mrs. Margaret Junkin Preston was born in Milton, Pennsylvania, in 1 820. In 1 848 her father became President of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University), and Lexington, Virginia, be came thereafter the home of the family. In 1857 she married Pro fessor T. L. Preston, of the Virginia Military Institute at Lexington. The rest of her life was spent in Lexington, with the exception of a few years toward the end in Baltimore. It was in the latter city that she died, in 1897.]

GONE FORWARD 1

Yes, " Let the tent be struck ": Victorious morning Through every crevice flashes in a day Magnificent beyond all earth s adorning: The night is over; wherefore should he stay? And wherefore should our voices choke to say,

"The General has gone forward "? Life s foughten field not once beheld surrender; But with superb endurance, present, past, Our pure Commander, lofty, simple, tender, Through good, through ill, held his high purpose fast, Wearing his armor spotless, till at last, Death gave the final, "forward" All hearts grew sudden palsied: Yet what said he Thus summoned? "Let the tent be struck!" For when Did call of duty fail to find him ready Nobly to do his work in sight of men, For God s and for his country s sake and then, To watch, wait, or go forward? 1 The selections from Margaret Junkin Preston are reprinted through the courtesy of the holder of the copyright, the Houghton Mifflin Company.