2

Rich prairies, decked with flowers of gold
Like sunlit oceans roll afar;

Broad lakes her azure heavens behold,
Reflecting clear each trembling star;
And mighty rivers, mountain born,
Go sweeping onward, dark and deep,
Through forests where the bounding fawn
Beneath their sheltering branches leap.

HOHENLINDEN

THOMAS CAMPBELL

Thomas Campbell (1777-1844) was a Scotch poet. He was born at Glasgow. At the time this battle was fought he was on a visit to Germany for the purpose of studying the literature of that country. He was then only twenty-three years old.

1

On Linden, when the sun was low,
All bloodless lay th' untrodden snow;
And dark as winter was the flow
Of Iser, rolling rapidly:

2

But Linden saw another sight,
When the drum beat at dead of night,
Commanding fires of death to light
The darkness of her scenery.

3

By torch and trumpet fast arrayed,
Each horseman drew his battle blade,
And furious every charger neighed
To join the dreadful revelry.

4

Then shook the hills with thunder riven;
Then rushed the steed to battle driven;

And, louder than the bolts of heaven
Far flashed the red artillery.

5

But redder yet that light shall glow
On Linden's hill of stainèd snow
And darker yet shall be the flow

Of Iser, rolling rapidly.

2

Rich prairies, decked with flowers of gold
Like sunlit oceans roll afar;

Broad lakes her azure heavens behold,
Reflecting clear each trembling star;
And mighty rivers, mountain born,
Go sweeping onward, dark and deep,
Through forests where the bounding fawn
Beneath their sheltering branches leap.

HOHENLINDEN

THOMAS CAMPBELL

Thomas Campbell (1777-1844) was a Scotch poet. He was born at Glasgow. At the time this battle was fought he was on a visit to Germany for the purpose of studying the literature of that country. He was then only twenty-three years old.

1

On Linden, when the sun was low,
All bloodless lay th' untrodden snow;
And dark as winter was the flow
Of Iser, rolling rapidly:

2

But Linden saw another sight,
When the drum beat at dead of night,
Commanding fires of death to light
The darkness of her scenery.

3

By torch and trumpet fast arrayed,
Each horseman drew his battle blade,
And furious every charger neighed
To join the dreadful revelry.

4

Then shook the hills with thunder riven;
Then rushed the steed to battle driven;

And, louder than the bolts of heaven
Far flashed the red artillery.

5

But redder yet that light shall glow
On Linden's hill of stainèd snow
And darker yet shall be the flow

Of Iser, rolling rapidly.

6

'Tis morn; but scarce yon level sun
Can pierce the war clouds, rolling dun,
Where furious Frank and fiery Hun
Shout in their sulphurous canopy.

7

The combat deepens. On, ye brave,
Who rush to glory or the grave!
Wave, Munich! all thy banners wave,
And charge with all thy chivalry!

8

Few, few shall part where many meet!
The snow shall be their winding sheet,
And every turf beneath their feet
Shall be a soldier's sepulcher.

HELPS TO STUDY

Historical: December 3, 1800, a battle between the Austrians and the French occurred at Hohenlinden, a village in Upper Bavaria. The French were victorious. The Franks were a powerful German tribe who mastered the Romans in Gaul and gave their name to France. The Huns were a warlike race living between the Ural and the Volga; in the fifth century they overran Europe and laid waste much territory. The poet uses the word "Hun" in referring to the Austrians. In this poem the author tries to make the reader see the battle as it really occurred.

Notes and Questions

What time of day is described in

the first stanza?

What is meant by the "dead of night''?

What did the beating of the

drums mean to the soldiers? What did the beating of the drums tell the people?

For what were the torches used?
Read the lines which tell you

that the horses were eager for
the battle.

Read the following description of a warhorse from a much older

poem; "He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha! and he smell