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<div style="background:#fff;border:#bbb dashed 1px;padding:5px"><a href="http://en.citatepedia.ro/comments.php?id=539691" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none"><div style="margin:10px 0"><strong>The First Grenadier of France</strong></div><div style="margin:10px 0">'Twas in a certain regiment of French Grenadiers,<br>A touching and beautiful custom was observed many years;<br>Which was meant to commemorate the heroism of a departed comrade,<br>And when the companies assembled for parade,<br>There was one name at roll call to which no answer was made </div><div style="margin:10px 0">It was that of the noble La Tour d'Auvergne,<br>The first Grenadier of France, heroic and stern;<br>And always at roll call the oldest sergeant stepped forward a pace,<br>And loudly cried, &quot;Died on the field of battle,&quot; then fell back into his place. </div><div style="margin:10px 0">He always refused offers of high promotion,<br>Because to be promoted from the ranks he had no notion;<br>But at last he was in command of eight thousand men,<br>Hence he was called the first Grenadier of France, La Tour d'Auvergne. </div><div style="margin:10px 0">When forty years of age he went on a visit to a friend,<br>Never thinking he would have a French garrison to defend,<br>And while there he made himself acquainted with the country.<br>But the war had shifted to that quarter unfortunately. </div><div style="margin:10px 0">But although the war was there he felt undaunted,<br>Because to fight on behalf of France was all he wanted;<br>And the thought thereof did his mind harass,<br>When he knew a regiment of Austrians was pushing on to occupy a narrow pass. </div><div style="margin:10px 0">They were pushing on in hot haste and no delaying,<br>And only two hours distant from where the Grenadier was staying,<br>But when he knew he set off at once for the pass,<br>Determined if 'twere possible the enemy to harass. </div><div style="margin:10px 0">He knew that the pass was defended by a stout tower,<br>And to destroy the garrison the enemy would exert all their power;<br>But he hoped to be able to warn the French of their danger,<br>But to the thirty men garrisoned there he was quite a stranger. </div><div style="margin:10px 0">Still the brave hero hastened on, and when he came there,<br>He found the thirty men had fled in wild despair;<br>Leaving their thirty muskets behind,<br>But to defend the garrison to the last he made up his mind. </div><div style="margin:10px 0">And in searching he found several boxes of ammunition not destroyed,<br>And for a moment he felt a little annoyed;<br>Then he fastened the main door, with the articles he did find,<br>And when he had done so he felt satisfied in mind. </div><div style="margin:10px 0">Then he ate heartily of the provisions he had brought,<br>And waited patiently for the enemy, absorbed in thought;<br>And formed the heroic resolution to defend the tower,<br>Alone, against the enemy, while he had the power. </div><div style="margin:10px 0">There the brave hero sat alone quite content,<br>Resolved to hold the garrison, or die in the attempt;<br>And about midnight his practised ear caught the tramp of feet,<br>But he had everything ready for the attack and complete. </div><div style="margin:10px 0">There he sat and his mind absorbed in deep distress,<br>But he discharged a couple of muskets into the darkness;<br>To warn the enemy that he knew they were there,<br>Then he heard the Austrian officers telling their men to beware. </div><div style="margin:10px 0">So until morning he was left unmolested,<br>And quietly till daylight the brave Grenadier rested;<br>But at sunrise the Austrian commander called on the garrison to surrender,<br>But the Grenadier replied, &quot;Never, I am its sole defender.&quot; </div><div style="margin:10px 0">Then a piece of artillery was brought to bear upon the tower,<br>But the Grenadier from his big gun rapid fire on it did shower;<br>He kept up a rapid fire, and most accurate,<br>And when the Austrian commander noticed it he felt irate. </div><div style="margin:10px 0">And at sunset the last assault was made,<br>Still the noble Grenadier felt not the least afraid;<br>But the Austrian commander sent a second summons of surrender,<br>Hoping that the garrison would his injunctions remember. </div><div style="margin:10px 0">Then the next day at sunrise the tower door was opened wide,<br>And a bronzed and scarred Grenadier forth did glide;<br>Literally laden with muskets, and passed along the line of troops,<br>While in utter astonishment the Austrian Colonel upon him looks. </div><div style="margin:10px 0">Behold! Colonel, I am the garrison, said the soldier proudly,<br>What! exclaimed the Colonel, do you mean to tell me --<br>That you alone have held that tower against so many men,<br>Yes, Colonel, I have indeed, replied La Tour d'Auvergne. </div><div style="margin:10px 0">Then the Colonel raised his cap and said, you are the bravest of the brave,<br>Grenadier, I salute you, and I hope you will find an honourable grave;<br>And you're at liberty to carry the muskets along with you,<br>So my brave Grenadier I must bid thee adieu. </div><div style="margin:10px 0">At last in action the brave soldier fell in June 1800,<br>And the Emperor Napoleon felt sorry when he heard he was dead;<br>And he commanded his regiment to remember one thing above all,<br>To cry out always the brave Grenadier's name at the roll call.</div><div style="margin:10px 0"><br /></a><br />poem by <a href="http://en.citatepedia.ro/by.php?a=William+Topaz+McGonagall">William Topaz McGonagall</a><div class=q>
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A touching and beautiful custom was observed many years;
Which was meant to commemorate the heroism of a departed comrade,
And when the companies assembled for parade,
There was one name at roll ca..."></div>
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