178 HEMANS
They shook the depths of the desert gloom With their hymns of lofty cheer.
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 soared
From his nest by the white wave's foam; And the rocking pines of the forest roared
This was their welcome home !
There were men with hoary hair
Amidst that pilgrim band; Why had they come to wither there,
Away from their childhood's land?
There was woman's fearless eye,
Lit by her deep love's truth; There was manhood's brow serenely high,
And the fiery heart of youth.
What sought they thus afar?
Bright jewels of the mine? The wealth of seas, the spoils of war?
They sought a faith's pure shrine!
Ay, call it holy ground,
The soil where first they trod.
They have left unstained what there they found- Freedom to worship God.
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