should our songs endure through
another generation--should not our language, with ourselves, be
extinguished forever!

In a valley circled by three hills of gentle slope, whose feet bathe in
the same stream, but whose tops are widely severed, stands the man who
but an hour before had borne the ban of excommunication from the altar
of God. Male figures, clad in black from head to foot, with pallid
faces, and the flash of steel glittering in the moonlight, seem to have
been awaiting his appearance, for when they perceive him, the reclining
rise to their feet, the standing descend to the borders of the stream,
banners are unfurled in the summer's night, but no huzzas break the
silence. Seating himself upon a rock on the banks of the stream, he is
himself the first to speak, his voice chiming time with the murmur of
the waters, as the tones of the singer with the sounding harpstrings.
His words, though low, reach the hearts of his companions:

'Soldiers! for some time past I have been your leader, and I am sure you
will not forget me. Treasure in your memories the last words I shall
ever address to you, for in them is the old truth, firm as these rocks,
holy as these stars. Our fathers owned this country for thousands of
years; during all that time, exile, injustice, oppression were utterly
unknown. Its children were numberless as the grains of wheat upon its
plains, as the trees in its interminable forests, and the neighboring
nations gathered for shelter under the shadow of their clustering
sabres. What the ear now never hears, what the eye never sees, but what
the soul of the brave never ceases to love, was their proud
inheritance--FREEDOM! Then came, with his throngs of slaves, the King
of the South.[A] At first he spake with guileful gentleness, pouring out
treacherous treasures of gold before us. Differing from us in faith and
language, he strove to unite what God had severed, and when affairs
moved not in accordance with his wishes, he tried to force himself upon
us with fire and sword. Shame to the dwellers in cities and the lords of
the valleys! fearing to face the dangers and hardships of life in the
caves of the mountains, the wilds of the forests, they submitted to the
usurper. But you have buried yourself in them as in graves, therefore
the day of resurrection will dawn upon you. Already I see the signs of a
brighter future. Has not the king's own residence been fired and
consumed? Have we not heard the screa