LII The Beleaguered City
Beside the Moldau’s rushing stream,
With the wan moon overhead,
There stood, as in an awful dream,
The army of the dead.
White as a sea-fog, landward bound,
The spectral camp was seen,
And with a sorrowful deep sound,
The river flow’d between.
No other voice nor sound was there,
No drum, nor sentry’s pace;
The mist-like banners clasp’d the air,
As clouds with clouds embrace.
But when the old cathedral bell
Proclaim’d the morning prayer,
The wild pavilions rose and fell
On the alarmed air.
Down the broad valley fast and far,
The troubled army fled;
Up rose the glorious morning star,
The ghastly host was dead.
H. W. Longfellow