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A BALLAD OF A DRUM
With one brave Sergeant, swam the stream,
His precious drum held high,
And from the river dripping rose
Amid the battle's hum,
A French refrain, with might and main,
To pound upon his drum.
The Austrians at Arcola
Seemed fifty thousand strong,
But many were the raw recruits
Among that mighty throng,
Who hearing Frenchmen in the rear,
Listened, confused and dumb,
Then gave a shout,—"We're hemmed about!"
And fled—before a drum!
The courage shown at Arcola
By André Estienne—
The lesson taught at Arcola
Is wholesome now as then.
Needs there a moral to the tale?
Then read in this its sum:
The greatest strength may yield at length,
When sounds a hero's drum!
