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Poem by William Wordsworth


In the Pass of Killicranky


An Invasion Being Expected, October, 1803

SIX thousand veterans, practised in war’s game,
Tried men, at Killicranky were arrayed
Against an equal host that wore the plaid,
Shepherds and herdsmen. Like a whirlwind came
The Highlanders, the slaughter spread like flame;
And Garry, thundering down his mountain-road,
Was stopped, and could not breathe beneath the load
Of the dead bodies. ’T was a day of shame
For them whom precept and the pedantry
Of cold, mechanic battle do enslave.
O for a single hour of that Dundee,
Who on that day the word of onset gave!
Like conquest would the men of England see,
And her foes find a like inglorious grave.



William Wordsworth


William Wordsworth's other poems:
  1. Processions
  2. Monastery of Old Bangor
  3. Inside of King’s College Chapel, Cambridge: Continued
  4. In Sight of the Town of Cockermouth
  5. Gordale


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