BY ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON
Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward,All in the valley of death Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns!" he said;2 Into the valley of deathRode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!" Was there a man dismayed? Not though the soldier knewSome one had blundered; Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why,1Charge of the Light Brigade: in the battle of Balaklava, in the Crimean War, an English brigade was, by some mistake, ordered to charge a Russian battery. The dreadful order was obeyed, and of the six hundred and thirty men who made the attack, only one hundred and fifty returned.
2"Charge for the guns!" he said: Captain Nolan gave the command to advance. By whose authority it was done could never be ascertained, as he was the first man to fall.
Theirs but to do and die: Into the valley of deathRode the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of themVolleyed and thundered; Stormed at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode and well,Into the jaws of death, Into the mouth of hellRode the six hundred.
Flashed all their sabers bare, Flashed as they turned in air Sabring the gunners there, Charging an army, whileAll the world wondered. Plunged in the battery smoke, Right through the line they broke; Cossack and RussianReeled from the saber-stroke Shattered and sundered. Then they rode back, but notNot the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon behind them Volleyed and thundered;Stormed at with shot and shell, While horse and hero fell, They that had fought so wellCame through the jaws of death, Back from the mouth of hell,All that was left of them, Left of six hundred.
When can their glory fade?
Oh, the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered. Honor the charge they made, Honor the Light Brigade,Noble six hundred!
A good book is the precious life-blood of a master spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life.
(MILTON)