Page:The life and letters of John Brown (Sanborn).djvu/15

 nor brass, nor granite from the shore
 * Which thy grave fathers trod with Pilgrim feet,

Thy tame shall never need; the hollow roar
 * Of Time's vast ocean will thy name repeat,

When we and all our works are buried low
 * Under the whelming of his restless tide.

In generous hearts thy praise shall ever glow
 * With theirs that earlier for sweet Freedom died.

Leonidas claims kindred with thy line,
 * Rome's firmest-rooted courage thou hast shared;

Not Sempach saw a nobler deed than thine,
 * When Winkelried his high achievement dared!

Nay, who sad Afric's kneeling race shall blame,
 * Blending with thine Judea's holiest name?

must we give what thou so well couldst spare
 * Thine earnest features, carved in whitest stone,—

Best symbol of a life as firm and fair,—
 * Shall grace this house, to thee so friendly known.

Here didst thou turn aside, a pilgrim gray;
 * Here didst thou lay that heavy burden down;

Here slept in peace, and with the breaking day
 * Departed hence to win thy noblest crown.

Now, while the opening year leads Freedom in,
 * And war's wild earthquake bursts the prison gate,

Our hearts, atoning for a nation's sin,
 * Give earnest of the honors that await.

And thou, blest Spirit! from thy calm retreat,
 * Give us Godspeed, and New Year's welcome sweet.

, Jan. 1, 1863.