 | The poetical works of John Townsend Trowbridge |  |
THE CABIN
READ AT THE CLAFLIN GARDEN PARTY GIVEN TO MRS. H. B. STOWE, IN CELEBRATION OF HER SEVENTIETH BIRTHDAY, JUNE 14, 1882
Genius, 'tis said, knows not itself,
But works unconscious wholly.
Even so she wrought, who built in thought
The Cabin of the Lowly.
But works unconscious wholly.
Even so she wrought, who built in thought
The Cabin of the Lowly.
A wife with common wifely cares,
What mighty dreams enwrapt her!
What fancies burned, until she turned
To write some flaming chapter!
What mighty dreams enwrapt her!
What fancies burned, until she turned
To write some flaming chapter!
Her life was like some quiet bridge,
Impetuous tides sweep under.
So week by week the story grew,
From wonder on to wonder.
Impetuous tides sweep under.
So week by week the story grew,
From wonder on to wonder.
Wisdom could not conceive the plot,
Nor wit and fancy spin it;
The woman's part, the wife's deep heart,
All mother's love, were in it.
Nor wit and fancy spin it;
The woman's part, the wife's deep heart,
All mother's love, were in it.
Hatred of tyranny and wrong,
Compassion sweet and holy,
Sorrow and Guilt and Terror built
That Cabin of the Lowly.
Compassion sweet and holy,
Sorrow and Guilt and Terror built
That Cabin of the Lowly.
And in the morning light, behold,
By some divine mutation,
Its roof became a sky of flame,
A portent to the nation!
By some divine mutation,
Its roof became a sky of flame,
A portent to the nation!
The Slave went forth through all the earth,
He preached to priest and rabbin;
He spoke all tongues; in every land
Opened that lowly Cabin.
He preached to priest and rabbin;
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Opened that lowly Cabin.
Anon a school for kinder rule,
For freer thoughts and manners;
Then from its door what armies pour
With bayonets and banners!
For freer thoughts and manners;
Then from its door what armies pour
With bayonets and banners!
More potent still than fires that kill,
Or logic that convinces,
The tale she told to high and low,
To peasants and to princes.
Or logic that convinces,
The tale she told to high and low,
To peasants and to princes.
That tale belongs with Freedom's songs,
The hero's high endeavor,
And all brave deeds that serve the needs
Of Liberty forever!
The hero's high endeavor,
And all brave deeds that serve the needs
Of Liberty forever!
I greet her now, when South and North
Have ceased their deadly quarrels;
And say, or sing, while here I fling
This leaf upon her laurels:—
Have ceased their deadly quarrels;
And say, or sing, while here I fling
This leaf upon her laurels:—
She loosed the rivets of the slave;
She likewise lifted woman,
And proved her right to share with man
All labors pure and human.
She likewise lifted woman,
And proved her right to share with man
All labors pure and human.
Women, they say, must yield, obey,
Rear children, dance cotillions:
While this one wrote, she cast the vote
Of unenfranchised millions!
Rear children, dance cotillions:
While this one wrote, she cast the vote
Of unenfranchised millions!
| The poetical works of John Townsend Trowbridge | |