An ominous owl with his solemn base voice,
- Sat moaning hard by ; sat moaning hard by.
"The tyrant's proud minions most gladly rejoice,
- For he must soon die ; for he must soon die."
The brave fellow told them, no thing he restrain'd,
- The cruel gen;ral ; the cruel gen'ral.
His errand from camp, of the ends to be gain'd,
- And said that was all ; and said that was all.
They took him and bound him and bore him away,
- Down the hill's grassy side ; down the hill's grassy side.
'Twas there the base hirelings, in royal array,
- His cause did deride ; his cause did deride.
Five minutes were given, short moments, no more,
- For him to repent ; for him to repent ;
He pray'd for his mother, he ask'd not another,
- To Heaven he went ; to Heaven he went.
The faith of a martyr, the tragedy shew'd,
- As he trod the last stage ; as he trod the last stage.
And Britons will shudder at gallant Hale's blood,
- As his words do presage, as his words do presage.
"Thou pale king of terrors, thou life's gloomy foe,
- Go frighten the slave, go frighten the slave ;
Tell tyrants, to you, their allegiance they owe.
- No fears for the brave ; no fears for the brave."
Frank Moore, Songs and Ballads of the American Revolution (New York, 1856), 131-133.
172. Arrival of a French Volunteer (1777)
BY GENERAL MARIE PAUL JOSEPH, MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE
Lafayette was the most distinguished of the many French officers in the American Service, and had great influence later in securing the French alliance. — Bibliography : Winsor, Narrative and Critical History, VI, 547; Charlemagne Tower, Jr., Lafayette in the American Revolution.
Charleston, 19 June, 1777.
MY last letter to you, my dear love, has informed you, that I arrived safely in this country, after having suffered a little from seasickness during the first weeks of the voyage ; that I was then, the
