Songs and Ballads for Manufacturers By The Rev. J. M. Neale |
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| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. | IX. The Miners. |
| X. |
| XI. |
| XII. |
| XIII. |
 | Songs and Ballads for Manufacturers |  |
16
IX. The Miners.
1
A hundred fathoms, one and all, below the earth we dwell,We never know the daylight's glow, that others love so well:
The ploughman sees the hills and trees, that we can never view;
The very sun that shines on him, on the queen is shining too.
2
By hard attacks, by flame and axe, we blast and hew our way;In darkness dim, through caverns grim, we toil from day to day;
The engine roars, the water pours, the pinions creak and strain;
The buckets rise with fresh supplies, and still we work the vein.
3
The toil we share, the very air whereof we take our breath,The rocks we hew, the things we view, they all are full of death:
And still we say, as day by day we pass the fiery damp,
His name be blest, and light his rest, that made the Safety Lamp.
4
A man thinks light of wrong or right, that never sees the sun;And in the place where darkness dwells, are deeds of darkness done;
The evil jest, the hardened breast,—we know them both,—and worse,
The heart that cares for nothing, and the blasphemy and curse.
17
5
Ay! time seems long in passing!—But time will pass away;Each thing we thought, each deed we wrought, will have its reckoning-day:
The deeds we did in secret shall be shown in all men's sight,
The words we spoke in darkness shall be published in the light!
6
For He, Who bade the husbandman to plough and sow and reap,Hath His eyes upon the miner in the lode so dark and deep:
Let us trust in Him at all times,—let us only do His will,
And He, Who heard our cry of late, can guide and guard us still.
7
God bless the man to whom we owe the thanks of all our lives;For saving from their bondage our children and our wives:
God bless the man that dared alone the miners' cause to plead;
That bravely came to end our shame, and help us in our need!
| Songs and Ballads for Manufacturers | |