[Editor: This poem, about the shooting of police sergeant Michael Kennedy by Ned Kelly, written by “R.G.S.” — a pseudonym of John Neilson (1844-1922) — was published in The Border Watch (Mount Gambier, SA), 1 January 1879.]
Lines on the Death of Sergeant Kennedy.
So here at last we have news to hand
That tells of the outlaws’ whereabouts,
And how brave Kennedy made a stand
When left alone — how he fought it out;
And how at length in the darksome wood
He met his death like a brave man should.
Heaven help thee Kennedy — four to one —
Small chance was thine we may well believe,
But the gallant sergeant held his own,
And emptied his barrels amidst the thieves;
And his aim had well nigh cost them dear,
As his pistol bullet grazed Kelly’s ear.
There’s an ancient adage that still holds true,
That the devil’s own have their father’s luck;
For the bullet that Kelly had well nigh slew
An honester man had doubtless struck;
But Kennedy falls to the earth at last
With his empty pistol within his grasp.
He falls, and the murderers gather round;
Do they hear unmoved his dying moans,
As he faintly speaks, in that bitter hour,
Of his wife and the little folks at home?
Poor little ones they never more
Shall hail his return at their cottage door.
We are not of those who would sneer and scorn;—
There’s hearts as brave ’neath the garb of blue
As those who hurled the cuirassiers
In ruin back at Waterloo,
Or those that followed for woe or weal
In the thin red line that was tipped with steel.
Perhaps there is less of nerve required
To face your foe ’neath the trumpet’s blast,
Than to thread your way through the gloomy woods,
When every step may be your last.
So Kennedy fell — we would not condole —
But say — God rest to his gallant soul.
R.G.S
Penola.
Source:
The Border Watch (Mount Gambier, SA), 1 January 1879, p. 4
Also published in:
The Riverine Grazier (Hay, NSW), 11 January 1879, p. 4
Editor’s notes:
condole = to express sympathy; to commiserate, to offer condolences
cuirassier = a mounted soldier, a cavalryman wearing a cuirass (armour made to cover one’s torso, including a breastplate and backplate; early ones were made from leather, with later ones usually being made from metal)
See: “Cuirass”, Wikipedia
garb of blue = a reference to the blue uniform of a policeman
honester = more honest, very honest
Kelly = Edward “Ned” Kelly (1854-1880), Australian bushranger
See: 1) John V. Barry, “Kelly, Edward (Ned) (1855–1880)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography
2) “Ned Kelly”, Wikipedia
Kennedy = police sergeant Michael Kennedy (1842-1878), who was shot and killed by Ned Kelly in 1878
’neath = (vernacular) beneath
thee = (archaic) you
thine = (archaic) yours; your (“thine”, meaning “your”, is usually placed before a word which begins with a vowel, e.g. “To thine own self be true”)
thin red line = a line of soldiers; British soldiers (wearing the “redcoat” uniform of earlier years)
Waterloo = the Battle of Waterloo, a major battle fought on 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, between the French forces of Napoleon Bonaparte and the allied forces of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and several German states, including Prussia; Napoleon was decisively defeated, he abdicated on 22 June 1815
weal = well-being, prosperity, or happiness (as used in: the public weal, the general weal, the common weal)
[Editor: Changed “Then to thread” to “Than to thread”.]
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