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WORDS are deeds. The words we hear May revolutionize or rear A mighty state. The words we read May be a spiritual deed Excelling any fleshly one, As much as the celestial sun Transcends a bonfire, made to throw A light upon some raree-show. A simple proverb tagged with rhyme May colour half the course of time; The pregnant saying of a sage May influence every coming age; A song in its effects may be More glorious than Thermopylae, And many a lay that schoolboys scan A nobler feat than Inkerman. |
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Raree-show—A peep-show; originally a “rarityshow,” usually of pictures carried about in a box. [back]
Thermopylae—A narrow mountain pass in Greece which was the scene of a great battle in 480 B.C., where Leonidas at the head of 300 Spartans held the pass for three days against a large Persian army, until by treachery the Persians learned of a secret path over the mountain, and, attacking the Spartans in front and rear destroyed all but one of that gallant band. [back] Inkerman—A battle in the Crimean war, fought on the 5th November, 1854. The defeat of the Russians in this battle was mainly due to the British soldiers. [back] |