Like a fawn from the arrow, startled and wild, A woman swept by us, bearing a child; In her eye was the night of a settled despair, And her brow was o’ershaded with anguish and care. She was nearing t...

Bring forth the balance, let the weight be gold! We’d know the worth of a deathless soul; Bring rubies and gems from every mine, With the wealth of ocean, land and clime. Bring the joys of the green, ...

Joy to my bosom! rest to my fear! Judea’s prophet draweth near! Joy to my bosom! peace to my heart! Sickness and sorrow before him depart! Rack’d with agony and pain, Writhing, long my child has lain;...

Heard you that shriek? It rose So wildly on the air, It seemed as if a burden’d heart Was breaking in despair. Saw you those hands so sadly clasped⁠— The bowed and feeble head⁠— The shuddering of that...

Take sackcloth of the darkest dye, And shroud the pulpits round! Servants of Him that cannot lie, Sit mourning on the ground. Let holy horror blanch each cheek, Pale every brow with fears: And rocks a...

Yes! Ethiopia yet shall stretch Her bleeding hands abroad; Her cry of agony shall reach The burning throne of God, The tyrant’s yoke from off her neck, His fetters from her soul, The mighty hand of Go...

He stood beside his dying child, With a dim and bloodshot eye; They’d won him from the haunts of vice To see his first-born die. He came with a slow and staggering tread, A vague, unmeaning stare, And...

The sale began⁠—young girls were there, Defenceless in their wretchedness. Whose stifled sobs of deep despair Revealed their anguish and distress. And mothers stood with streaming eyes, And saw their ...

In yonder halls reclining Are forms surpassing fair, And brilliant lights are shining, But, oh! the dead are there! There’s music, song and dance, There’s banishment of care, And mirth in every glance...

Oh! crush it not, that hope so blest, Which cheers the fainting heart, And points it to the coming rest, Where sorrow has no part. Tear from my heart each worldly prop, Unbind each earthly string, But...

The light was faintly streaming Within a darkened room, Where a woman, faint and feeble, Was sinking to the tomb. The silver cord was loosened, We knew that she must die; We read the mournful token In...

I heard, my young friend You were seeking a wife, A woman to make Your companion for life. Now, if you are seeking A wife for your youth, Let this be your aim, then⁠— Seek a woman of truth. She may no...

Nay, do not blush! I only heard You had a mind to marry; I thought I’d speak a friendly word, So just one moment tarry. Wed not a man whose merit lies In things of outward show, In raven hair or flash...

Life to her no brightness brought, Pale and stricken was her brow, Till a bright and joyous thought Lit the darkness of her woe. Long had sickness on her preyed, Strength from every nerve had gone; Sk...

They forced him into prison, Because he begged for bread; “My wife is starving⁠—dying!” In vain the poor man plead.1 They forced him into prison, Strong bars enclosed the walls, While the rich and pro...

The murmurs of a distant strife Fell on a mother’s ear; Her son had yielded up his life, Mid scenes of wrath and fear. They told her how he’d spent his breath In pleading for the dumb, And how the glo...

It was my sad and weary lot To toil in slavery; But one thing cheered my lowly cot⁠— My husband was with me. One evening, as our children played Around our cabin door, I noticed on his brow a shade I’...

They scorned her for her sinning, Spoke harshly of her fall, Nor lent the hand of mercy To break her hated thrall. The dews of meek repentance Stood in her downcast eye: Would no one heed her anguish?...

He came⁠—a wanderer; years of sin Had blanched his blooming cheek, Telling a tale of strife within, That words might vainly speak. His feet were bare, his garments torn, His brow was deathly white; Hi...

Farewell, father! I am a dying, Going to the “glory land,” Where the sun is ever shining, And the zephyr’s ever bland. Where the living fountains flowing, Quench the pining spirit’s thirst; Where the ...

Onward, onward, sons of freedom, In the great and glorious strife; You’ve a high and holy mission On the battle field of life. See oppression’s feet of iron Grind a brother to the ground, And from ble...

Walking through life’s dusty highways, Mid the tramp of hurrying feet, We may gather much instruction From the “lessons of the street.” Now a beggar sues for succor⁠— Nay, repress that look of pride! ...

Finished now the weary throbbing, Of a bosom calmed to rest; Laid aside the heavy sorrows, That for years upon it prest. All the thirst for pure affection, All the hunger of the heart; All the vain an...

Men of Cleveland, had a vulture Sought a timid dove for prey, Would you not, with human pity, Drive the gory bird away? Had you seen a feeble lambkin, Shrinking from a wolf so bold, Would ye not to sh...

Make me a grave where’er you will, In a lowly plain, or a lofty hill, Make it among earth’s humblest graves, But not in a land where men are slaves. I could not rest if around my grave I heard the ste...

Kind and gracious princess, more than friend, I’ve come to thank thee for thy goodness, And to breathe into thy generous ears My last and sad farewell. I go to join The fortunes of my race, and to put...

Kind and gracious princess, more than friend, I’ve come to thank thee for thy goodness, And to breathe into thy generous ears My last and sad farewell. I go to join The fortunes of my race, and to put...

It was a great change from the splendor, light And pleasure of a palace to the lowly huts Of those who sighed because of cruel bondage. As he passed Into the outer courts of that proud palace, He paus...

The love of Moses for his race soon found A stern expression. Pharaoh was building A pyramid; ambitious, cold and proud, He scrupled not at means to gain his ends. When he feared the growing power of ...

Men grow strong in action, but in solitude Their thoughts are ripened. Like one who cuts away The bridge on which he has walked in safety To the other side, so Moses cut off all retreat To Pharaoh’s t...

On the next day Pharaoh called a council Of his mighty men, and before them laid The message of the brethren: then Amorphel, Keeper of the palace and nearest lord Unto the king, arose, and bending low...

But Pharaoh was strangely blind, and turning From his first-born and his dead, with Egypt’s wail Scarce still upon his ear, he asked which way had Israel gone? They told him that they journeyed Toward...

They journeyed on from Zuphim’s sea until They reached the sacred mount and heard the solemn Decalogue. The mount was robed in blackness⁠— Heavy and deep the shadows lay; the thunder Crashed and roare...

It was a weary thing to bear the burden Of that restless and rebellious race. With Sinai’s thunders almost crashing in their ears, They made a golden calf, and in the desert Spread an idol’s feast, an...

His work was done; his blessing lay Like precious ointment on his people’s head, And God’s great peace was resting on his soul. His life had been a lengthened sacrifice, A thing of deep devotion to hi...

Have the bright and glowing visions Faded from thy longing sight, Like the gorgeous tints of ev’n Mingling with the shades of night? Didst thou hope to see thy country Wearing Justice as a crown, Stan...

When a dark and fearful strife Raged around the nation’s life, And the traitor plunged his steel Where your quivering hearts could feel, When your cause did need a friend, We were faithful to the end....

A rock, for ages, stern and high, Stood frowning ’gainst the earth and sky, And never bowed his haughty crest When angry storms around him prest. Morn springing from the arms of night Had often bathed...

’Twas a fearful night⁠—the tempest raved With loud and wrathful pride, The storm-king harnessed his lightning steeds, And rode on the raging tide. The sea-king lay on his bed of death. Pale mourners a...

Light! more light! the shadows deepen, And my life is ebbing low, Throw the windows widely open! Light! more light! before I go. Softly let the balmy sunshine Play around my dying bed, E’er the dimly ...

Not for them the length’ning shadows Falling coldly round our lives, Nearer, nearer through the ages Life’s new spring for them arrives. Not for them the doubt and anguish Of an old and loveless age, ...

Cruel in vengeance, reckless in wrath, The hunters of men bore down on our path; Inhuman and fierce, the offer they gave Was freedom in death or the life of a slave. The cheek of the mother grew palli...

Thank God that thou hast spoken Words earnest, true and brave, The lightning of thy lips did smite The fetters of the slave. I thought the shadows deepened, Round the pathway of the slave, As one by o...

We would see Jesus; earth is grand, Flowing out from her Creator’s hand. Like one who tracks his steps with light, His footsteps ever greet our sight; The earth below, the sky above, Are full of token...

They robed her for another groom, For her bridal couch, prepared the tomb; From the sunny love of her marriage day A stronger rival had won her away; His wooing was like a stern command, And cold was ...

Thank God for little children, Bright flowers by earth’s wayside, The dancing, joyous lifeboats Upon life’s stormy tide. Thank God for little children; When our skies are cold and gray, They come as s...

Slowly o’er his darkened features Stole the warning shades of death, And we knew the mystic angel Waited for his parting breath. He had started for his freedom, And his heart beat firm and high; But b...

Ring, aye, ring the freedom bell, And let its tones be loud and clear; With glad hosannas let it swell Until it reach the Bondman’s ear. Through pain that wrings the life apart, And spasms full of dea...

She stood at Jesus’ feet, And bathed them with her tears, While o’er her spirit surg’d The guilt and shame of years. Though Simon saw the grief Upon the fair young face, The stern man coldly thought F...

Oh, my soul had grown so weary With its many cares opprest, All my heart’s high aspirations Languish’d in a prayer for rest. I was like a lonely stranger Pining in a distant land, Bearing on her lips ...

She leaned her head upon her hand And heard the king’s decree⁠— “My lords are feasting in my halls, Bid Vashti come to me. “I’ve shown the treasures of my house, My costly jewels rare, But with the gl...

The blue sky arching overhead, The green turf ’neath my daily tread, All glorified by freedom’s light, Grow fair and lovely to my sight. The very winds that sweep along Seemed burdened with a lovely s...

Come nearer to me, husband, Now the aching leaves my breast, But my eyes are dim and weary, And to-night I fain would rest. Clasp me closer to your bosom Ere I calmly sleep in death; With your arms en...

Men of the North! it is no time To quit the battle-field; When danger fronts your rear and van It is no time to yield. No time to bend the battle’s crest Before the wily foe, And, ostrich-like, to hid...

It shall flash through coming ages; It shall light the distant years; And eyes now dim with sorrow Shall be clearer through their tears. It shall flush the mountain ranges; And the valleys shall grow ...

Tell me, did the angels greet thee? Greet my darling when she smiled? Did they whisper, softly, gently, Pleasant thoughts unto my child? Did they whisper, ’mid thy dreaming, Thoughts that made thy spi...

He stood before his finished work; His heart beat warm and high; But they who gazed upon the youth Knew well that he must die. For many days a fever fierce Had burned into his life; But full of high i...

Come speak to me of Jesus, I love that precious name, Who built a throne of power Upon a cross of shame. Unveil to me the beauty That glorifies his face⁠— The fullness of the Father⁠— The image of his...

Beneath the burden of our joy Tremble, O wires, from East to West! Fashion with words your tongues of fire, To tell the nation’s high behest. Outstrip the winds, and leave behind The murmur of the res...

Judgment slumbered. God in mercy Stayed his strong avenging hand; Sent them priests and sent them prophets, But they would not understand. Judgment lingered; men, grown bolder, Gloried in their shame ...

Night closed o’er the battling army, But it brought them no success; Victory perched not on their banners; Night was full of weariness. Flushed and hopeful in the morning, Turned they from their leade...

You’ve heard no doubt of Irish bulls, And how they blunder, thick and fast; But of all the queer and foolish things, O’Reiley, you have said the last. You say we brought the rebs supplies, And gave th...

Ye are builders, little builders, Not with mortar, brick and stone, But your work is far more glorious⁠— Ye are building freedom’s throne. Where the ocean never slumbers Works the coral ’neath the spr...

Dear father, I hear a whisper, It tells me that I must go, And my heart returns her answer In throbbings so faint and low. I’m sorry to leave you, father, I know you will miss me so, And the world for...

We’ve room to build holy altars Where our crumbling idols lay; We’ve room for heavenly visions, When our earth dreams fade away. Through rifts and rents in our fortune We gazed with blinding tears, Ti...

Your land is crowned with regal men, Whose brows ne’er wore a diadem⁠— The men who, in our hour of need, Reached out their hands and bade God speed. Who watched across the distant strand The anguish o...

I remember, well remember, That dark and dreadful day, When they whispered to me, “Chloe, Your children’s sold away!” It seemed as if a bullet Had shot me through and through, And I felt as if my hear...

Master only left old Mistus One bright and handsome boy; But she fairly doted on him, He was her pride and joy. We all liked Mister Thomas, He was so kind at heart; And when the young folks got in scr...

Of course, I don’t know very much About these politics, But I think that some who run ’em, Do mighty ugly tricks. I’ve seen ’em honey-fugle round, And talk so awful sweet, That you’d think them full o...

Very soon the Yankee teachers Came down and set up school; But, oh! how the Rebs did hate it⁠— It was agin’ their rule. Our masters always tried to hide Book learning from our eyes; Knowledge didn’t a...

Uncle Jacob often told us, Since freedom blessed our race We ought all to come together And build a meeting place. So we pinched, and scraped, and spared, A little here and there: Though our wages was...

Well, one morning real early I was going down the street, And I heard a stranger asking For Missis Chloe Fleet. There was a something in his voice That made me feel quite shaky, And when I looked righ...

I thirst, but earth cannot allay The fever coursing through my veins. The healing stream is far away⁠— It flows through Salem’s lovely plains. The murmurs of its crystal flow Break ever o’er this worl...

The strength that bore her on for years Was ebbing fast away, And o’er the pale and life-worn face, Death’s solemn shadows lay. With tender love and gentle care, Friends gathered round her bed, And fo...

He stood before the savage throng, The base and coward crew; A tameless light flashed from his eye, His heart beat firm and true. He was the hero of his band, The noblest of them all; Though fetters g...

I wear an easy garment, O’er it no toiling slave Wept tears of hopeless anguish, In his passage to the grave. And from its ample folds Shall rise no cry to God, Upon its warp and woof shall be No stai...

At the Portals of the Future, Full of madness, guilt and gloom, Stood the hateful form of Slavery, Crying, Give, Oh! give me room⁠— Room to smite the earth with cursing, Room to scatter, rend and slay...

Served him right! How could he dare To touch the idol of our day? What if its shrine be red with blood? Why, let him turn his eyes away. Who dares dispute our right to bind With galling chains the wea...

I have but four, the treasures of my soul, They lay like doves around my heart; I tremble lest some cruel hand Should tear my household wreaths apart. My baby girl, with childish glance, Looks curious...

Tidings! sad tidings for the daughter of Ai, They are bearing her prince and loved away, Destruction falls like a mournful pall On the fallen house of ill-fated Saul. And Rizpah hears that her loved m...

Turn my daughters, full of woe, Is my heart so sad and lone? Leave me children⁠—I would go To my loved and distant home. From my bosom death has torn Husband, children, all my stay, Left me not a sing...

Come, gather around me, children, And a story I will tell. How we builded the beautiful temple⁠— The temple we love so well. I must date my story backward To a distant age and land, When God did break...

Out in the cold mid the dreary night, Under the eaves of homes so bright; Snowflakes falling o’er mother’s grave Will no one rescue, no one save? A child left out in the dark and cold, A lamb not shel...

Like Dives in the deeps of Hell I cannot break this fearful spell, Nor quench the fires I’ve madly nursed, Nor cool this dreadful raging thirst. Take back your pledge⁠—ye come too late! Ye cannot save...

It is nothing to me, the beauty said, With a careless toss of her pretty head; The man is weak if he can’t refrain From the cup you say is fraught with pain. It was something to her in after years, Wh...

My home is so glad, my heart is so light, My wandering boy has returned to-night. He is blighted and bruised, I know, by sin, But I am so glad to welcome him in. The child of my tenderest love and car...

I had a dream, a varied dream: Before my ravished sight The city of my Lord arose, With all its love and light. The music of a myriad harps Flowed out with sweet accord; And saints were casting down t...

Do you see this cup⁠—this tempting cup⁠— Its sparkle and its glow? I tell you this cup has brought to me A world of shame and woe. Do you see that woman sad and wan? One day with joy and pride, With o...

We come, but not to celebrate, Amid the flight and whirl of years, The deeds of heroes, on whose brows Are laurels, drenched with blood and tears. Nor yet to tell of wondrous deeds, Performed on field...

From the peaceful heights of a higher life I heard your maddening cry of strife; It quivered with anguish, wrath and pain, Like a demon struggling with his chain. A chain of evil, heavy and strong, Ru...

He lifted up his pleading eyes, And scanned each cruel face, Where cold and brutal cowardice Had left its evil trace. It was when tender memories Round Beth’lem’s manger lay, And mothers told their li...

’Twas a night of dreadful horror⁠— Death was sweeping through the land; And the wings of dark destruction Were outstretched from strand to strand. Strong men’s hearts grew faint with terror, As the te...

Two little children sit by my side, I call them Lily and Daffodil; I gaze on them with a mother’s pride, One is Edna, the other is Will. Both have eyes of starry light, And laughing lips o’er teeth of...

He stood before my heart’s closed door, And asked to enter in; But I had barred the passage o’er By unbelief and sin. He came with nail-prints in his hands, To set my spirit free; With wounded feet he...

The treacherous sands had caught our boat, And held it with a strong embrace And death at our imprisoned crew Was sternly looking face to face. With anxious hearts, but failing strength, We strove to ...

He stood before the sons of Heth, And bowed his sorrowing head; “I’ve come,” he said, “to buy a place Where I may lay my dead. “I am a stranger in your land, My home has lost its light; Grant me a pla...

She came from the East a fair, young bride, With a light and a bounding heart, To find in the distant West a home With her husband to make a start. He builded his cabin far away, Where the prairie flo...

From Rome’s palaces and villas Gaily issued forth a throng; From her humbler habitations Moved a human tide along. Haughty dames and blooming maidens, Men who knew not mercy’s sway, Thronged into the ...

Let me make the songs for the people, Songs for the old and young; Songs to stir like a battle-cry Wherever they are sung. Not for the clashing of sabres, For carnage nor for strife; But songs to thri...

You can sigh o’er the sad-eyed Armenian Who weeps in her desolate home. You can mourn o’er the exile of Russia From kindred and friends doomed to roam. You can pity the men who have woven From passion...

“Build me a nation,” said the Lord. The distant nations heard the word, Build me a nation true and strong, Bar out the old world’s hate and wrong; For men had traced with blood and tears The trail of ...

Maceo dead! a thrill of sorrow Through our hearts in sadness ran When we felt in one sad hour That the world had lost a man. He had clasped unto his bosom The sad fortunes of his land⁠— Held the cause...

My mother’s kiss, my mother’s kiss, I feel its impress now; As in the bright and happy days She pressed it on my brow. You say it is a fancied thing Within my memory fraught; To me it has a sacred pla...

Do you see this grain of sand Lying loosely in my hand? Do you know to me it brought Just a simple loving thought? When one gazes night by night On the glorious stars of light, Oh how little seems the...

They heard the South wind sighing A murmur of the rain; And they knew that Earth was longing To see them all again. While the snow-drops still were sleeping Beneath the silent sod; They felt their new...

Say not the age is hard and cold⁠— I think it brave and grand; When men of diverse sects and creeds Are clasping hand in hand. The Parsee from his sacred fires Beside the Christian kneels; And clearer...

Outcast from her home in Syria In the lonely, dreary wild; Heavy hearted, sorrow stricken, Sat a mother and her child. There was not a voice to cheer her Not a soul to share her fate; She was weary, h...

Do you blame me that I loved him? If when standing all alone I cried for bread a careless world Pressed to my lips a stone. Do you blame me that I loved him, That my heart beat glad and free, When he ...

Onward to her destination, O’er the stream the Hannah sped, When a cry of consternation Smote and chilled our hearts with dread. Wildly leaping, madly sweeping, All relentless in their sway, Like a ba...

Life was trembling, faintly trembling On the bondman’s latest breath, And he felt the chilling pressure Of the cold, hard hand of Death. He had been an Afric chieftain, Worn his manhood as a crown; Bu...

Only a little scrap of blue Preserved with loving care, But earth has not a brilliant hue To me more bright and fair. Strong drink, like a raging demon, Laid on my heart his hand, When my darling join...

Too frail to soar⁠—a feeble thing⁠— It fell to earth with fluttering wing; But God, who watches over all, Beheld that little sparrow’s fall. ’Twas not a bird with plumage gay, Filling the air with its...

God bless our native land, Land of the newly free, Oh may she ever stand For truth and liberty. God bless our native land, Where sleep our kindred dead, Let peace at thy command Above their graves be ...

Welcome children of the Spring, In your garbs of green and gold, Lifting up your sun-crowned heads On the verdant plain and wold. As a bright and joyous troop From the breast of earth ye came Fair and...

“Build me a house,” said the Master, “But not on the shifting sand, Mid the wreck and roar of tempests, A house that will firmly stand. “I will bring thee windows of agates, And gates of carbuncles br...

Sharers of a common country, They had met in deadly strife; Men who should have been as brothers Madly sought each other’s life. In the silence of the even, When the cannon’s lips were dumb, Thoughts ...

They shall see Him in the crimson flush Of morning’s early light, In the drapery of sunset, Around the couch of night. When the clouds drop down their fatness, In late and early rain, They shall see H...

The conies had their hiding-place, The wily fox with stealthy tread A covert found, but Christ, the Lord, Had not a place to lay his head. The eagle had an eyrie home, The blithesome bird its quiet re...

Go work in my vineyard, said the Lord, And gather the bruised grain; But the reapers had left the stubble bare, And I trod the soil in pain. The fields of my Lord are wide and broad, He has pastures f...

The prison-house in which I live Is falling to decay, But God renews my spirit’s strength, Within these walls of clay. For me a dimness slowly creeps Around earth’s fairest light, But heaven grows cle...

There was grief within our household Because of a vacant chair. Our mother, so loved and precious, No longer was sitting there. Our hearts grew heavy with sorrow, Our eyes with tears were blind, And l...

Year after year the artist wrought With earnest, loving care, The music flooding all his soul To pour upon the air. For this no metal was too rare, He counted not the cost; Nor deemed the years in whi...

Do not cheer, for men are dying From their distant homes in pain; And the restless sea is darkened By a flood of crimson rain. Do not cheer, for anxious mothers Wait and watch in lonely dread; Vainly ...

We may sigh o’er the heavy burdens Of the black, the brown and white; But if we all clasped hands together The burdens would be more light. How to solve life’s saddest problems, Its weariness, want an...

Behold the lilies of the field How beautiful and fair; Their fragrance as a breath of heaven Refreshes all the air. No sordid labors bow them down, Nor dull depressing care; They only tell of God’s gr...

Do you see this ragged stocking, Here a rent and there a hole? Each thread of this little stocking Is woven around my soul. Do you wish to hear my story? Excuse me, the tears will start, For the sight...

“Pledge me with wine,” the maiden cried, Her tones were gay and light; “From others you have turned aside, I claim your pledge to-night.” The blood rushed to the young man’s cheek Then left it deadly ...

He had plunged into our sorrows, And our sin had pierced his heart, As before him loomed death’s shadow, And he knew he must depart. But they hailed him as a victor As he into Salem came, And the very...

It was done, the deed of horror; Christ had died upon the cross, And within an upper chamber The disciples mourned their loss. Peter’s eyes were full of anguish, Thinking sadly of the trial When his b...

They took away his seamless robe, With thorns they crowned his head, As harshly, fiercely cried his foes: “Barabbas in his stead.” The friends he loved unto the end, Who shared his daily bread, Before...

Rise up! rise up! Oh Israel, Let a spotless lamb be slain; The angel of death will o’er you bend And rend your galling chain. Sprinkle its blood upon the posts And lintels of your door; When the angel...

He is coming, she said, to Simon’s feast, The prophet of Galilee, Though multitudes around him throng In longing his face to see. He enters the home as Simon’s guest, But he gives no welcome kiss; He ...

See this case, as touchingly related, in Oliver Twist, by Dickens. ↩ The Temperance Band. ↩...