 | [An infant abolitionist, in] The oasis |  |
201
AN INFANT ABOLITIONIST.
How often by a sinless child
May we of error be beguiled;
How oft a single, simple word
The sealed springs of thought have stirr'd,
And waken'd feelings deep, to be
A lesson for futurity!
May we of error be beguiled;
How oft a single, simple word
The sealed springs of thought have stirr'd,
And waken'd feelings deep, to be
A lesson for futurity!
The gayest, most aerial thing,
That moves on earth without a wing,
Today such lesson taught to me.
How sweetly, yet unconsciously,
The infant maiden, artless, mild,
Reproved her elder playmate's pride!
And yet the babe has only smiled
Three years by her fond mother's side.
That moves on earth without a wing,
Today such lesson taught to me.
How sweetly, yet unconsciously,
The infant maiden, artless, mild,
Reproved her elder playmate's pride!
And yet the babe has only smiled
Three years by her fond mother's side.
They stood before a picture—one
Where dark 'neath Afric's burning sun,
A wild and lonely native lay:
The child's companion turn'd to say,
“There 's an old nigger, Anne, see!”
And pointed to the African;
The little one said quietly,
“I see he is a colored man.”
Where dark 'neath Afric's burning sun,
A wild and lonely native lay:
The child's companion turn'd to say,
“There 's an old nigger, Anne, see!”
And pointed to the African;
The little one said quietly,
“I see he is a colored man.”
Ah, well may sages bow to thee,
Loving and guileless infancy!
And sigh, amid their learned lore,
For one untaught delight of thine—
And feel they 'd give their wisdom's store
To know again thy truth divine!
Loving and guileless infancy!
202
For one untaught delight of thine—
And feel they 'd give their wisdom's store
To know again thy truth divine!
The boasted power of eloquence
Can sway the soul with magic art—
But simple words from innocence
May sink more deeply in the heart.
Can sway the soul with magic art—
But simple words from innocence
May sink more deeply in the heart.
| [An infant abolitionist, in] The oasis | |