100
And for his chronicle of the event
That sent such thrill of joy across the sea.
And here was many a relic of the past,
And present sweet refreshment; so they ate
Where Wellington had eaten, and they wrote
Where he had done, and chatted gaily on.
That sent such thrill of joy across the sea.
And here was many a relic of the past,
And present sweet refreshment; so they ate
Where Wellington had eaten, and they wrote
Where he had done, and chatted gaily on.
Forward to Hougoumont they hastened then,
And with the quaint old man's quaint sister there
In queerly blended languages they talked,
In the courtvard where once such struggle raged
But lazy-looking horses now turned in,
And by the well that held three hundred slain,
Where now the hens were pecking peacefully;
Marked with serene composure the effect
Of shot, and shell, and fire on chateau-walls,
In the small chapel, and where'er they turned;
And in the orchard, 'mid the verdant graves,
They strolled at ease, and laughingly peered through
Loopholes in walls, for tragic onslaught made.
Then went they on, in path circuitous,
Where, on the glorious, awful battlefield,
Masses of lovely cornflower grew in corn
That recent hail had flattened. Forward still
By other noted spots and monuments
They hurried on, until they reached again
The Lion Mound, and left to catch the train
That bore them back to Brussels.
And with the quaint old man's quaint sister there
In queerly blended languages they talked,
In the courtvard where once such struggle raged
But lazy-looking horses now turned in,
And by the well that held three hundred slain,
Where now the hens were pecking peacefully;
Marked with serene composure the effect
Of shot, and shell, and fire on chateau-walls,
In the small chapel, and where'er they turned;
And in the orchard, 'mid the verdant graves,
They strolled at ease, and laughingly peered through
Loopholes in walls, for tragic onslaught made.
Then went they on, in path circuitous,
Where, on the glorious, awful battlefield,
Masses of lovely cornflower grew in corn
That recent hail had flattened. Forward still
By other noted spots and monuments
They hurried on, until they reached again
The Lion Mound, and left to catch the train
That bore them back to Brussels.
