No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just,
And this be our motto--"_In God is our trust_":
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
FRANCIS SCOTT KEY.
FATHER WILLIAM.
"Father William" a parody by Lewis Carroll (1833-), is even more clever
than the original. Harmless fun brightens the world. It takes a real
genius to create wit that carries no sting.
"You are old, Father William," the young man said,
"And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head--
Do you think, at your age, it is right?"
"In my youth," Father William replied to his son,
"I feared it might injure the brain;
But now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again.
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