Fire, when I tell thee so!"

"What freak is this?" quoth Stuyvesant grim.
Quoth Herman, "'Twas a charger brave--
Like my first bride in eye and limb--
A wedding-gift; indulge the whim!
And from his back to plunge, I crave,
A bridegroom, in her grave."

Then muttered the uneasy guard:
"We rob an old man of his lands,
And slay him. Sure his fate is hard,
His dying plea to disregard!"
"Ride then to death!" Stuyvesant commands;
"Unbind his horse, his hands!"

V.--THE LEAP.

The old steed darted in the fort,
And neighed and shook his long gray mane;
Then, seeing soldiery, his port
Grew savage. With a charger's snort,
Upright he reared, as young again
And scenting a campaign.

Hard on his nostrils Herman laid
An iron hand and drew him down,
Then, mounting in the esplanade,
The rude Dutch rustics stared afraid:
"By Santa Claus! he needs no crown,