The Battle Of Bunker Hill

[Thé folUnvinfí fiptrtted pntiu, by Dr. Oliver Weniloli IIi)!ni:'f, is (aken i'roin the Hunker IlU Memorial, publifihed by Osgood & Co., of Boston.' It was rcad au a pirt of Che exerciaea attendant qponi the ■cnttiiniiil jiiiuiv'.rp,iry of tho batllo, at Boatou, .Tmio 17 :] GRANDMOTHEITS STORY OF BUNfEK HILL BATTLE : AS SHE BAW IT FROM THE I1ELFKY. 'Tis liko stirring living embérs, when, at oighty, ono rfiiif'nibora All tho achinga and üio quakkigs of w the times tnat triod mens eouls;" When I talk of Whig and Tory, when I teil the Rebel story, To you the word are ashes, but to me tlieyTo buruing eoals. I had heard the ínUakete' rattle of the April ruiming battle ; Lord tercy'e hunted soldiere, I can sec their red coats still ; Bnt a deadly chili comes o'er me, as the day loom.'i up befpre mr, Whcn a thoasand men lay bleeding on the alopes of ' Bunker Hill. 'Twas a pcaceful Summer's morning, when the first thinggave as waruiug Was the booming of the cannon from the rivcr and the nhore : "Child." saya gnindma. "what's the matter, what is all thiü noise and elatler? Have thoso sealping ludían dcvils come to murder us once more?" Poor old soul! my miles we re ahaking in the midsf of all iny QiUUÜng, To hear her talk of Indiana when the guns begau to poar : She had Been the burning village, and the slaughter and the pillaje, When the Mohaifkfl killd hor father with their bullóte tlirough hiH door. Thcn I fiaid, "Now, deur old :ramt,v,Mon't you fret j and worry auy, For I'll 8oon come back and teil you whethcr this is vork or play ; There can't be misc-hief in it, m I won 't be gone a minute" - i For a minute then I Btarted. I was gone the ; long day. No time for bodice-lacing or for looking-glafts tíriíuacing ; Down my hair went as I hurried, tumbling half-way to my heek ; tí o tl forbid your ever knciwing, when there's blood arounil her fiowing, llow the lonelv, helpless daughter of a quiet hold f eelB ! In the Ktreet I heard a thuinping ; and I knew it was , the stumping Of the Corporal, our old neighbor, on that woode.11 leg he wore, With a knot of T.-omen round liim - it was Iueky I : hadfound him, So I followed willi the oiliern, and the Corporal marchad before. They were making for the utecplc,- tho old soldier! and bis people ; The pieontí circled round us as we climbed tlie j ereaking tair. Jii8(. aeross the ïirtrrow river - oh, so close it made ' me suiver ! ♦Stc d a fnrtrese on the hill-top that but yesterday wan bitre. Not slow our eyes to find it ; well we kuew who stood behind it, Though the earth-work hid them from iip, and the stubborn wal] s were dumb: Ut -ri' were sister, wiie, and inother, looking wild upon each other, And thuir lips werc white with terror, as they said I THK HOUll HAS COME ! Tho morning slowly wasted, not a morsel had we taste d, And on bflaidfl werc altaost splittiug with the cannons' dcafening thrill, When a figure tal! and statcly round the rampart strode wnilately ; It was PitEscoTT, one since told me ; he commauded on the hill. Every woman's heart grew bigger when we Baw bis nianly ftgnre, With the )anyan buckled ro.nnd it, Btanding up bo Btnight and tall ; Like a gentleman of leisure who is strolling out for plowuxe, 'L'lirough the storm of shells and cannon-shot he walkcd around the wall. At eloven the itreets iwan Mwiuilfigj for the I coats' ranks werc f orming ; At Hoon in murching order they were moving to tho piers ; How the bayoneta gleamcd and glistened, as we looked far down and ligtened To the trajupling and the drum beat of the beltcd grenadiers. At length the men have started, with a cheer (it seemed faint-hearted), In thoir scarlet regimentáis, thcir knaiïsacks on thiir backa, And the reddening, rippling water, as after a seafight'B Blaughter, Round tho bargea gliding onward bïushed likc blood along their tracks. So they crossed to the other border, and again they formed in order ; And the boato carne back for soldiers, calue for eoldiers, Boldiers still ; The time seemed everlasting to us women laint and ' fasting - At last they'rr. moving, marching, marching proiidly up the hi)l. We can see the bright steel glancing all along the Unes advancing - Now t!ie front rank flres a volley - they have thrown tn;ty their shot; For behind thoir carthwork lying, all the halls abovc , thein flytüg, Out pcople uccd not hurry ; so they wail and answer not. Thcii the Corporal, our old cripplc (he would swcar Hometimes and tipple) - He had heard the bullcts whistle (in the old Freneh war) before - 'ally out m wordS of jnering, just as if they all wero hearing - And hia wooden leg thunips iiercely on the dusty j belfry floor. ' Oh ! ürc away, ye villains, and earn King Goorge's ishilHn's, 3ut yc'll waste a ton of powder before a 'rebel' falls; You m ay bang the dirt and welcome, they 're aa safe j as Dan'l Malcolm Ten foot bencath Ihe gravest ne that you'vc splintered wiih your balls!'In the hush of expectation, in the awe and trepidaUon it the dread approachlng moment, wc are well uigh breathlesa all ; [ïtongjb the rotten bars are failiug on the rickety belfry railing, fVc are crowding up against thcni like the waves against a wall. Ju-t a glimpse {the air is clearcr), they are nearer - j nearer - uearer, When a flaíh - a curling emoke-wreath - then a cxfesb- the steeplti Fhakee - The doadly truce iBcndcd; the tempest's shroud ia rended; lákc a morning mÍHt it gathered, like a thundercloud it breaks ! )h tho fight our eycs discover as the blue-black i Biuoke blows over ! Che redooati stretched in windrows as a 'tuower ' raken hif hay; ïere a aflarlet heap la lying, tlierc a hnadlong crowd is flying Like a billow that lias broken and is t-Iiivcred into spray. rhen wn cricd, " The troopH are ruuted ! They are beat - it caift bc douhted ! (tod bc thanked, the fight is over!" - Ah! the grim o!d soldiers smile ! "Teil uk, teil un why you Iotik BO?" (we coTÜa hardly speak, we ehook so) "Are tln-y beaten? Are they bcaten? Akk they bcaten?"- " Waitawhile.1' fh the trezubliog and tho terror! for too soon we Btw our error ; They are baffled, not defeatcd ; we have driven them 1 'u-k Ín vain ; And the coluuiTiH that were scattered, round the colora that were tattercd, Toward the nullen silent fortress turn thcir beltcd brcavta agalti. All at once, as vo, are gazing, lo the roofs of Charlestown blazin ! They h:iv Ared the harmless village ; in an hour it will be down ! The Lord in heavon confound them, rain his ñre and briinstoiie round them - The robMng, mnrderlng red-coatB, that would burn i a pcawftil town ! They art; mureliiiii,', ytern and Holemu wo eau eee eae)i tnasslv column As they near the naked earth-mound with the slantiug wal b s gteep. iiat our soldiere got faint-hearted, and in noielc8s baste departí il V Are t'H' panlc-strnck and belpleaa 7 Are they paisicd w aeleop? Nm ! tlie w;(iik ihrv re almost under ! scarce a rod I thr foM aflTntilT ! Not a flrelock ñapíifd against them ! up the earthwork tlieywïll liwarm ! liut the wordK bave aoasee been wpok'n, when tli-1 ominoua oalm ík ïu-oken, And a beUowing craKh empl led all the vengcance of the storm ! So agahl, '■vü.Ii ïtnirdi-rous slauhter, pelted baekward to the water, My Plgofc'a running heroea and the. frightened bravea of Howe ; And we shout, " At last they're dono lor, H'h their i bej have run for ; i ii v .■ !■ ati d !■■ aten, !■ aten ; and the battle'a over jiow !" a 1 Ae lookedv poor ttnaid cr6tnc6Br.Q0 f! old aoldlei V features, 0r lilw:ifr.!id to '" ■ lUHW wbM Wfl would ■ "Not sure," he s;ií1 ; '' keep qulet - once more, I guara, ih.'.v']l tryit- Here'B daninatinn t the cut-tbroats I" thon he hamled me his flask, Baylng "Gal, jou "re looking haky; have a droi of oll .Tamaiky ; l'm ilVard there'U bc more tronblr ;itiv the Job is dono ; So I took one scorehing swallow ; clreadf ui faint I feit and hollow, Standing Uure i'rom carly morning when the flring was bogun. All through those hours of trial I had watehert a calin clork dial. As the hands kopt oreeping, creepiug - thry wore oreepfog round to four, Whcn the oio man satd, ' They'ro forming wltb Ihi'ir bftgonotfl fix&d for stormillg J It'fl the death-grlp Ihst's a-coming - they will'lry the wodu once more." With brazei) trumpets blaring, the flames bcJiind them gladbg, The dtadly wall brforo them, in close array they come ; Still onward, upward toiliug, Itko a dragon's fold imcoiliiifi - Like tho rattlisiiuke's hrill raming tht; revt rberating driun ! Over hftps ;ill torfl and gory - shall 1 tel] tho fcarf ui story, How thoy Hurjied abovo tho breaatwork, ik n. soa breaks 0Vr a deck ; How driven, yet scarce dofeated, oiir worn-out mvn retreabedj With thnir p()wder-horns all eiuptied, liko the swimmers from i wreek l It has all been told and painted ; as formo, they niiy I faiutcd, And the wooden-legged oíd Corporal stumped with me dovni the stair, And wlien I woke from dreame aflrightert the evening lamps wrro alighted - On the íloor a yotilh was lying ; his bloeding brcast was bare. And I hoard thrcragh all the flun'y, " Send for Warren! hurry! hnrry ! Teil hini here's ;l soldier blecding, and he'H come and dress hia woond I" Ah, we know not till the morrow told its tale of deafch and eorrow, How Uw starlight found him stiffeucd on the dark and blooily grotind. Who the youth was, what hie name was, whcre tho place from which he caine was, M'Iio had broughfc him from tho battle, and liad laft . him at onr door, He could not ppeak to teil us ; but 't was one of our brave feuows, As the homespun plainlv showcd us which the dying soldier wore. For thoy all thonght hc was dying, as they gathered round him crjing- And they paid, "Oh how they'll miss him!" and, " What i'-iU )úa íaother do?" Then, his eyelids jupt nnclosing like a child'a that has bf-n aozm, He faintly murmtiroa, "Motiier!"- and - I saw his eyes werc blue. " Wby, grandma, how you'rc winking ! - Ah, my child, it acts me thinking Of a story not like this one. Well, he somehowiined aloug ; So we camo to know each othcr, and I nursed him like a mother, Till at last he ptood before me, tall and rosy-cheeked and strong. And we sometimes walked together in the picasant nummer weathcr ; 11 Pleaee to teil us what hts name was?"- Juist your own, my little dear - rhere's hls picture Copley painted ; we became ho well acquainted, Ihat - in short, that'H why l'm grandma, and you cktldren all are here !