Read the following lines and answer the question that follows by choosing the correct option :
'My father lived at Blenheim then,
Yon little stream hard by;
They burnt his dwelling to the ground,
And he was forced to fly;
So with his wife and child he fled,
Nor had he where to rest his head.
'With fire and sword the country round
Was wasted far and wide,
And many a childing mother then,
And new-born baby died;
But things like that, you know, must be
At every famous victory.
The narrator's father _________ to save his life.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → had to run away
After his house was burnt, the father "was forced to fly"; fly is used here in its older sense of to flee, which the next line confirms: "So with his wife and child he fled".
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: fought bravely — Incorrect. Not mentioned: the lines say nothing about him fighting; he fled from the soldiers.
Option 3: sent away his family — Incorrect. Contradicted: he did not send them away; he fled with his wife and child.
Option 4: begged pardon — Incorrect. Not mentioned: to beg pardon is to ask to be forgiven; nothing in the lines shows him asking anyone for forgiveness.