Chapter II

The great procession came up the street, With loud da capo, and brazen repeat; There was Hans, the leader, a Teuton born, A sharp who worried the E flat horn; And Baritone Jake, and Alto Mike, Who never played any thing twice alike; And Tenor Tom, of conservative mind, Who always came out a note behind; And Dick, whose tuba was seldom dumb, And Bob, who punished the big bass drum. And when they stopped a minute to rest, The martial band discoursed its best; The ponderous drum and the pointed fife Proceeded to roll and shriek for life; And Bonaparte Crossed the Rhine, anon, And The Girl I Left Behind Me came on; And that was the way The bands did play On the loud, high-toned, harmonious day, That gave us-- _Hurray! Hurray! Hurray!_ (With some music of bullets, our sires would say,) Our glorious Independence!