Rensselaer Democrat, Volume 1, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 May 1898 — HEAR THE DRUMS MARCH BY. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HEAR THE DRUMS MARCH BY.

ARAR, Sarah, Sar- , ah, hear tha drums L. inarch by! gferpH Th! s Is Decoration Day;—hurry and be spry! wJYttA Wheel me to the w!ndow, girl; fling It Fl °P en high! ’ JTTUi Crippled of the body HvLilW now, and blinded PyjUK* of the eye, SpjYY; Sarah, let me listen “ ’ while the ..drums march by. ’

Hear ’em; how they roll! I can feel ’em In my soul. Hear the beat—beat—o’ the boots on tbs street; Hear the sweet flfo cut the air like a knife: Hear the tones grand of the words of command; Hear the walls nigh shout back their reply! Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, hear the drums dance by! Blind as a bat, I can see ’em, for all that; Old Colonel J., stately an’ gray, Riding slow and solemn at the head of the column; There’s Major L., sober now and well; Old Lengthy Bragg, still a-bearlng of the » flag; There’s old Strong, that I tented with so long; There’s the whole crowd, hearty and proud. Hey! boys, say! can't you glance up this way? Here's an old comrade, crippled now, an* gray! This Is too mneh. Girt, throw me my crutchl I can see—l can walk—l can march—l could fly! No, I won’t sit still an* see the boys march by! Oh!—I fall and I flinch; I can't go an Inch! No use to flutter, no use to try. Where’s my strength? Hunt down at the front; There’s where I left It. No need to sigh; All the milk’s spilt; there’s no use to cry. Plague o’ these tears, and the moans In my ears! Part of a war is to suffer and to die. I must sit still, and let the drums march by. Part of a war Is to suffer and to die— Suffer and to die—suffer and to—Why, Of all the crowd I just yelled at so loud. There’s hardly a one but Is killed, dead and gone! All the old regiment, excepting only I, March out of sight In the country of ths night. That was a specter band marched past so grand. All the boys are a-tentlng In the sky. Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, hear the drums moan by! —Will Carleton.