Excerpt from Rolland Bane: A Thrilling Romance of the Hazel Mountains of Pennsylvania, in Verse Fifteen births of genial summer from the pregnant womb of time; Fifteen winters saw them buried while they yet were in their prime. Kings have reigned and princes flourished, empires rose and kingdoms fell, Men of power and fame have perished, and their number who can tell? Wars have ruined, famine wasted, pestilence in darkness stalked, Cities have been laid in ruins while the mighty earthquake rocked. Fires have raged on plain and forest, storms have howled along the shore; While the smaller towns have crumbled 'neath the cyclone's awful roar. Generals and brilliant captains who victorious armies led, All have gone to answer roll call in the bivouac of the dead. Men of genius, men of talent, men of culture, men of worth, All have fallen by the Reaper, mingled with the dust of earth. Hoary time has not been idle since the youthful Rolland led Fair young Phoebe from the altar to the sacred bridal bed. She a maid of twenty summers. He a youth of twenty-three; Setting sail on life's great ocean in the ship called Ecstasy. Which they hoped would bear them over to the fairy land of Fame. All her fruits are golden apples; Fortune's Goddess rules the same. Life to them was full of promise on that happy wedding day; She was young and fair and gentle, he was strong and proud and gay. Gardens had been devastated to adorn their flowery way, Now the bridal flowers have withered, thorns have sprung up by the way. She looks pale and thin and tired; now his hair is turning gray. Would you hear the thrilling story how he prospered in the strife? By what path his feet have wandered up and down the hills of life? Why he left his father's dwelling Where he was a mother's pride? About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.