Home. Think of the slave in your hours of wo- 41 Think of the slave in your hours of prayer, Home. XXII.* W. J. SNELLING. GREAT God, if the humble and weak are as dear To thy love as the proud, to thy children give ear! Our brethren would drive us in deserts to roam; Forgive them, O Father, and keep us at home. Home, sweet home! We know no other; this, this is our home. Here, here our loved mothers, released from their toils To watch o'er our cradles and joy in our smiles; *This Hymn is expressive of the sentiments of our colored brethren with regard to the wild and cruel scheme of the American Colonization Society. 42 Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers. Here the bones of our fathers lie buried; and here Are friends, wives, and children, ay, all we hold dear. Here is law, here is learning, and here we may move, Most merciful God, in the light of thy love. Boasts Afric such blessings? Oppressors, declare ! Oh no, we may seek but shall not find them there. Columbia, dear land of our birthright! may He, Who made us a people, rain blessings on thee! From thy bosom no pleading shall tempt us to roam; Till force drive us from it, this, this is our home. Home, sweet home, Till force drive us from it, this, this is our home. Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers. XXIII. FELICIA HEMANS. THE breaking waves dash'd bigh On a stern and rock-bound coast, And the woods against a stormy sky Their giant branches toss'd; Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers. 43 And the heavy night hung dark, The hills and waters o'er, When a band of exiles moor'd their bark On the wild New England shore. New England. PERCIVAL. Hail to the land whereon we tread, The sepulchre of mighty dead, Who sleep on glory's brightest bed, No slave is here; our unchained feet There is no other land like thee, Thou art the shelter of the free; The home, the port of Liberty, Ere I forget to think upon My land, shall mother curse the son Thou art the firm, unshaken rock, And, rising from thy hardy stock, Thy sons the tyrant's frown shall mock, And Slavery's galling chains unlock, All, who the wreath of Freedom twine Are blessed. 44 Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers. Not as the conqueror comes, They, the true-hearted, came; Not as the flying come, In silence and in fear; They shook the depths of the desert gloom Amidst the storm they sang, And the stars heard and the sea! And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang To the anthem of the free. The ocean eagle soar'd From his nest by the white wave's foam, And the rocking pines of the forest roar'dThis was their welcome home! There were men with hoary hair Why had they come to wither there, There was woman's fearless eye, Prisoners' Evening Hymn. 45 What sought they thus afar? Bright jewels of the mine? The wealth of seas, the spoils of war?- Ay, call it holy ground, The soil where first they trod! We will leave unstain'd what here they foundFreedom to worship God. Prisoners' Evening Hymn. XXIV. FELICIA HEMANS. WE see no more in thy pure skies, |