Page:Narrative of William W. Brown, a fugitive slave.djvu/119

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Respectfully Dedicated to William Wells Brown, as a testimony of

regard for his uncompromising advocacy of the cause of his enslaved brothers and sisters, by

As I strayed from my cot at the close of the day,

I turned my fond gaze to the sky;

I beheld all the stars as so sweetly they lay,

And but one fixed my heart or my eye.

Shine on, northern star, thou'rt beautiful and bright

To the slave on his journey afar;

For he speeds from his foes in the darkness of night,

Guided on by thy light, freedom's star.

On thee he depends when he threads the dark woods.

Ere the bloodhounds have hunted him back;

Thou leadest him on over mountains and floods,

With thy beams shining full on his track.

Unwelcome to him is the bright orb of day,

As it glides o'er the earth and the sea;

He seeks then to hide like a wild beast of prey.

But with hope, rests his heart upon thee.

May never a cloud overshadow thy face,

While the slave flies before his pursuer;

Gleam steadily on to the end of his race.

Till his body and soul are secure.