 | THE VOICE OF THE COUNTRY. Water-drops |  |
39. THE VOICE OF THE COUNTRY.
I heard a bitter sigh
Break from a mother's breast,
And knew it was my Country's voice
That thus her sons addrest:—
“Ye are my crown of hope,
Dim not its peerless ray;
Ye are the sinews of my strength,—
Cast not that strength away.
“There is a fiery cup,
Whose ministry of woe
Can melt the spirit's purest pearl,
And lay the mightiest low:
Turn from its treacherous tide,
Repel its siren claim,
Nor let me mid the nations blush,
And mourn my children's shame.
“And will ye, for the sake
Of one brief poison-draught,
The record of my fame debase,
By blood and suffering bought?—
Break from a mother's breast,
And knew it was my Country's voice
That thus her sons addrest:—
“Ye are my crown of hope,
Dim not its peerless ray;
Ye are the sinews of my strength,—
Cast not that strength away.
“There is a fiery cup,
Whose ministry of woe
Can melt the spirit's purest pearl,
And lay the mightiest low:
Turn from its treacherous tide,
Repel its siren claim,
Nor let me mid the nations blush,
And mourn my children's shame.
“And will ye, for the sake
Of one brief poison-draught,
The record of my fame debase,
By blood and suffering bought?—
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And will ye cast a stain
Upon my banner's ray,
That all the rivers of your realm
Can never wash away?”
Upon my banner's ray,
That all the rivers of your realm
Can never wash away?”
| THE VOICE OF THE COUNTRY. Water-drops | |