Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War

Herman Melville

75 chapters · about 2 h

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The opening

The Portent.

(1859.)

Hanging from the beam, Slowly swaying (such the law), Gaunt the shadow on your green, Shenandoah! The cut is on the crown (Lo, John Brown), And the stabs shall heal no more.

Hidden in the cap Is the anguish none can draw; So your future veils its face, Shenandoah! But the streaming beard is shown (Weird John Brown), The meteor of the the war.

The whole book is in the Sphinx app.

About this edition

The words
The author's text, copied word for word.
Left out
  • The source library's header, footer and license
  • The title page and opening pages before chapter 1
  • The printed table of contents (the app makes its own)
  • A duplicate outer section heading; the poem's own heading follows and is retained
  • A duplicate nested poem heading; the same source title already opens this chapter