THE MILITIAMAN.
Reading edition
"O warrior with the burnished arms— With bullion cord and tassel— Pray tell me of the lurid charms Of service and the fierce alarms: The storming of the castle, The charge across the smoking field, The rifles' busy rattle— What thoughts inspire the men who wield The blade—their gallant souls how steeled And fortified in battle." "Nay, man of peace, seek not to know War's baleful fascination— The soldier's hunger for the foe, His dread of safety, joy to go To court annihilation. Though calling bugles blow not now, Nor drums begin to beat yet, One fear unmans me, I'll allow, And poisons all my pleasure: How If I should get my feet wet!"
"A LITERARY METHOD."
His poems Riley says that he indites Upon an empty stomach. Heavenly Powers, Feed him throat-full: for what the beggar writes Upon his empty stomach empties ours!