 | The poetical works of Samuel Woodworth |  |
INAUGURATION ODE.
While the vassals of Tyranny rivet their chains
By birthday effusions, and base adulation,
Let freemen express, in their holyday strains,
The voice of a people, the choice of a nation.
Let laureates sing
For the birth of a king,
'T is ours to rejoice for the first fruits of spring;
For still shall the Fourth Day of March ever yield
A harvest of glory in Liberty's field.
By birthday effusions, and base adulation,
Let freemen express, in their holyday strains,
The voice of a people, the choice of a nation.
Let laureates sing
For the birth of a king,
'T is ours to rejoice for the first fruits of spring;
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A harvest of glory in Liberty's field.
Encircled with glory, the chieftain retires,
Who led us in safety through war's dread commotion;
While the spirit that raised him, another inspires,
To watch o'er our rights with equal devotion.
Monroe shall preside,
His countryman's pride,
The soldier, the statesman, the patriot, well tried;
And thus shall the Fourth Day of March ever yield
A harvest of glory in Liberty's field.
Who led us in safety through war's dread commotion;
While the spirit that raised him, another inspires,
To watch o'er our rights with equal devotion.
Monroe shall preside,
His countryman's pride,
The soldier, the statesman, the patriot, well tried;
And thus shall the Fourth Day of March ever yield
A harvest of glory in Liberty's field.
To legitimate tyrants no freeman shall bow—
To Virtue alone will we pay veneration:
The chiefs of Columbia are called from the plough,
And retire from the chair to the same occupation.
Thus Tompkins arose,
In the face of his foes,
For the path of a patriot the “Farmer's Boy” chose;
And thus shall the Fourth Day of March ever yield
A harvest of glory in Liberty's field.
To Virtue alone will we pay veneration:
The chiefs of Columbia are called from the plough,
And retire from the chair to the same occupation.
Thus Tompkins arose,
In the face of his foes,
For the path of a patriot the “Farmer's Boy” chose;
And thus shall the Fourth Day of March ever yield
A harvest of glory in Liberty's field.
Then hail to the day that beholds us once more
Place the chaplet of power on the brow of true merit;
'T is the sacred insignia our Washington wore—
A legacy none but the good shall inherit;
To the patriot Monroe
The tribute we owe,
Till the people reclaim it again to bestow;
And the Fourth Day of March be again made to yield
A harvest of glory in Liberty's field.
Place the chaplet of power on the brow of true merit;
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A legacy none but the good shall inherit;
To the patriot Monroe
The tribute we owe,
Till the people reclaim it again to bestow;
And the Fourth Day of March be again made to yield
A harvest of glory in Liberty's field.
Let freemen unite on this festival day,
To celebrate Liberty's triumph in chorus;
Awaken the trumpet—our banners display,
And hail the bright prospect that opens before us;
In pæans of joy
Your voices employ,
For the Patriot Monroe, and our own “Farmer's Boy;”
And ne'er may the Fourth Day of March cease to yield
A harvest of glory in Liberty's field,
To celebrate Liberty's triumph in chorus;
Awaken the trumpet—our banners display,
And hail the bright prospect that opens before us;
In pæans of joy
Your voices employ,
For the Patriot Monroe, and our own “Farmer's Boy;”
And ne'er may the Fourth Day of March cease to yield
A harvest of glory in Liberty's field,
| The poetical works of Samuel Woodworth | |