when the surgeon met him and whispered softly, 'He is gone.' Christ's soldier had found the captain of his salvation, and received his reward."
Tell my mother, when you see her,
That I fell amid the strife ;
And for freedom and my country
I have given up my life;
Tell her that I sent this message
Ere my tongue refused to speak,
And you tell her, comrade, won't you ?
Tell my mother not to weep.
Tell her, comrade, how we battled
For our country and the right;
How I held the starry banner
In the thickest of the fight;
Tell her how they struggled for it,
And, with curses loud and deep,
Took my bosom for their target—
But tell her not to weep.
Tell her I held up the banner
'Mid the screaming shot and shell,
Till the fatal leaden missile
Pierced my side, and then I fell.
Tell her I was ready, waiting,
When my pulses ceased to beat.
And I longed once more to see her —
But you tell her not to weep.
Tell her that the truths she taught me
Nerved my arm and led my feet,
And I trusted in the promise
'Mid the battle's fiercest heat.
Tell her, while my hfe was ebbing,
That I kissed her face so sweet —
Kissed the picture that she gave me—
And you tell her not to weep.
