Now gazed at the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and somber and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns!

A hurry of hoofs in a village street,

10

A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,

And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet :

15

That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light, The fate of a nation was riding that night;

And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.

He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides:
And under the alders that skirt its edge,

Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.

It was twelve by the village clock

When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,

And the barking of the farmer's dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the sun goes down.

It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock

Swim in the moonlight as he passed,

And the meetinghouse windows, blank and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,

As if they already stood aghast

At the bloody work they would look upon.

It was two by the village clock,

When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,

And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadows brown.

And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,

Pierced by a British musket ball.

You know the rest.

In the books

In the books you have read

How the British Regulars fired and fled,

How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.

So through the night rode Paul Revere;

And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm, -

A cry of defiance and not of fear,

A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo forevermore!
For, borne on the night wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,

In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

bar'rack, house for soldiers; gren a diers', foot soldiers, originally so called because they carried grenades or bombs; som'ber, dark; sen'ti nel, guard; im pet'u ous, eager; spec'tral, ghastly; tran'quil, quiet; a ghast', horrified; e merge', come out.

1. How long ago did Paul Revere take his famous ride? 2 From what point did he start? Where did he go? Follow his How long a ride was it? 3. Where is the Find out if it is still standing. 4. What

course on your map. Old North Church?

15

was he riding for? At the beginning of what war was this? 5. What is a phantom? Why is the Somerset called a phantom ship? 6. Why is the ladder trembling? 7. What is meant by the night encampment of the dead? 8. What was the line of black that the watcher in the belfry saw? How did the British come? Find the answer in the poem. 9. Why is the church steeple called spectral and somber? 10. Explain the line "The fate of a nation was riding that night." 11. What do the next two lines mean? 12. What did Paul Revere's ride accomplish? Read the lines of the poem that tell us. 13: What does the author mean in the last stanza when he says that in the time of danger Paul Revere's message and the hoof beats of his steed will always be heard? 14. Tell the whole story in your own words.

Spelling. Study and write from dictation the first five lines.

Pronouns. -I. To whom do the underlined words in the following passage refer? Read the stanza aloud and substitute for the underlined words the name for which each stands.

And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height,

A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight

A second lamp in the belfry burns.

II. To what does the word they refer in the following passage? Read aloud, substituting for they the noun for which it stands. Which reads the more smoothly, the version in which you repeat the noun many times, or the one in which some word is used in place of the noun ?

And the meetinghouse windows, blank and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,

As if they already stood aghast

At the bloody work they would look upon.

Rule. - A word which is used in place of a noun is called a pronoun.

III. In the following sentences substitute for the pronouns the nouns for which they stand:

1. The brook said, "I chatter over stony ways."

2. As he approached the village, Rip Van Winkle met a number of people.

3. A wind came up out of the sea

And said, "O mists, make room for me."

4. Squirrels like to make their nests in hollow trees.
5. Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn.

6. Sleep, baby, sleep!

Thy father guards the sheep.

7. The plowman homeward plods his weary way.
8. The sea birds screamed as they wheeled around.

73

UNION AND LIBERTY

FLAG of the heroes who left us their glory,
Borne through their battlefields' thunder and flame,
Blazoned in song and illumined in story,

Wave o'er us all who inherit their fame!

Up with our banner bright,

Sprinkled with starry light,

Spread its fair emblems from mountain to shore,

While through the sounding sky

Loud rings the Nation's cry,

UNION AND LIBERTY! ONE EVERMORE!

10