Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton （b. 1808,d. 1877） was the grand-daughter of Richard Brinsley Sheridan. She wrote verses and plays at a very early age. "The Sorrows of Rosalie," published in 1829,was written before she was seventeen years old. In 1827 she was married tthe Hon. George Chapple Norton. The marriage was an unhappy one,and they were divorced in 1836. Her principal works are "The Undying One," "The Dream,and Other Poems," "The Child of the Islands," "Stuart of Dunleith,a Romance," and "English Laws for English Women of the 19th Century." She contributed extensively tthe magazines and other periodicals.
1.A soldier of the Legion1 lay dying in Algiers,There was lack ofwoman‘s nursing ,there was dearth2 of woman’stears;
But a comrade stood beside him,while his lifeblood ebbed3 away,And bent,with pitying glances,thear what he might say. The dying soldier faltered,as he took that comrade‘s hand,And he said: "I nevermore shall see my own,my native land;Take a message and a token tsome distant friends of mine,For I was born at Bingen,-at Bingen on the Rhine.
2."Tell my brothers and companions,when they meet and crowd1 Legion,division of an army. 2Dearth,scarcity.
3 Ebbed,flowed out around
Thear my mournful story in the pleasant vineyard ground,That we fought the battle bravely,and when the day was done,Full many a corse1 lay ghastly pale beneath the setting sun;And,’mid the dead and dying,were some grown old in wars,-The death wound on their gallant breasts,the last of many scars;But some were young ,and suddenly beheld life‘s morn decline,-And one had come from Bingen,-fair Bingen on the Rhine.
3."Tell my mother that her other sons shall comfort her old age,For I was aye a truant bird,that thought his home a cage.
For my father was a soldier,and,even when a child,My heart leaped forth thear him tell of struggles fierce and wild;And when he died,and left us tdivide his scanty hoard,I let them take whate’er they would,but kept my father‘s sword;And with boyish love I hung it where the bright light used tshine,On the cottage wall at Bingen,-calm Bingen on the Rhine.
4."Tell my sister not tweep for me,and sob with drooping head,When the troops come marching home again,with glad and gallantread,
But tlook upon them proudly,with a calm and steadfast2 eye,For her brother was a soldier,too,and not afraid tdie;And if a comrade seek her love,I ask her in my name Tlisten thim kindly,without regret or shame,And thang the old sword in its place （my father’s sword and mine）,1Corse,a dead body.2Steadfast,firm,resolute.For the honor of old Bingen,-dear Bingen on the Rhine.
5."There‘s another,-not a sister;in the happy days gone by,You’d have known her by the merriment that sparkled in hereye;Toinnocent for coquetry1,-tofond for idle scorning,-friend ! I fear the l ig htest hear t ma kes sometimesheaviest.mourning!Tell her the last night of my life-（for,ere the moon be risen,My body will be out of pain,my soul be out of prison）,I dreamed I stood with her,and saw the yellow sunlight shine On the vine-clad hills of Bingen,-fair Bingen on the Rhine.
6."I saw the blue Rhine sweep along: I heard,or seemed thear,The German songs we used tsing,in chorus2 sweet and clear;And down the pleasant river,and up the slanting hill,The echoing chorus sounded,through the evening calm andstill;talk,And her glad blue eyes were on me,as we passed,with friendly Down many a path beloved of yore3,and well-rememberedwalk;And her little hand lay lightly,confidingly in mine,-But we‘ll meet nmore at Bingen,-loved Bingen all the Rhine."7.His trembling voice grew faint and hoarse;his grasp was childishweak,1Coquetry,trifling in love.2Chorus,music in which all join. 3 Yore,old times.
His eyes put on a dying look,-he sighed and ceased tspeak. His comrade bent tlift him,but the spark of life had fled,- The soldier of the Legion in a foreign land was dead!And the soft moon rose up slowly,and calmly she looked down On the red sand of the battlefield,with bloody corses strewn;Yes,calmly on that dreadful scene,her pale light seemed tshine,As it shone on distant Bingen,-fair Bingen on the Rhine.
