Hope on, Brothers, hope, the time draws near
When the few no longer shall rule in spite-
When Justice, enrob'd in Truth, shall appear-
When man, thro' the world, from duty shall steer--
Falsehood shall fade, and morality's light
Shall herald supreme the worship of Right!
Hope on, Brothers, hope, o'er humanity scan,
And cheerfully aid in the Progress of Man!
Hope on, Brothers, hope-shall vice command,
And millions for ever their homage pay?
Shall Ignorance ne'er cease to haunt the land,
And thousands migrate from their native strand?
Shall Poverty ever hold despot sway,
And gold be the means to crush and to slay?
No! hope, Brothers, hope, o'er humanity scan,
And cheerfully aid in the Progress of Man!
Hope on, Brothers, hope, nor e'er despair,
Tho' failure may often attend your toil,
For, remember, the efforts each can spare,
United, would make oppressors beware;
Would tyrant designs on happiness foil,
And for ever set free our native soil.
Hope on, Brothers, hope, o'er humanity scan,
And cheerfully aid in the Progress of Man!
Hope on, Brothers, hope, Freedom shall rise,
And Slav'ry sink 'neath Society's base;
Man shall his brother no longer despise,
When he aids to reform and make him wise.
Work must be done, 'ere mankind can abase
Pride in the rich, and misery displace.
Hope on, Brothers, hope, o'er humanity scan,
And cheerfully aid in the Progress of Man!
You bid me choose and tell the name,
Of the thing I prize the most
You show me treasures that rich men claim, And with fiendish rapture boast
I dare not choose from their glittering store, Or kneel at their gory shrine,
Their gold is wrought by the bleeding Poor, Whom Poverty makes to pine.
You open the gates that lead to Fame,
And bid me go enter in,
But the way is paved with craft and shame,
And Virtue is robed in sin.
I dare not choose Fame's golden bowers
By treach'ry or deceit,
I'd rather ne'er touch her blooming flowers,
Or my heart should cease to beat.
Riches and Fame, from their lofty throne,
May whisper with mellow breath,
But I dare not choose to wring the groan,
Or widen the jaws of Death;
Or cringe like a slave to those of earth,
Who move in a golden sphere,
For manhood-the nobler far by birth-
I hold to my heart more dear.
I seek but means to earn my bread,
And I'll gladly use my hands;
I'll walk in the path the noble tread,
And an honest life demands;
And I'll journey on, as best I'can,
My money I'll freely share,
To aid in distress, my fellow man,
At the least what I can spare.
You bid me choose the thing I deem
More precious to life than gold,
Yet seldom it glides along the stream,
Which carries the human fold:
I view its image, and feel delight,
When I kiss my lovely child,
Who smiles on my fond admiring sight,
With a radiance undefil'd.
It lives in the flower in gorgeous hues,
And emerald beauty drest,
And tunes the glowing ethereal muse,
That sings in the Poet's breast!
It mounts above to the azure sky,
And in majesty sublime,
It revolves the countless worlds on high,
And sits in the car of Time.
It lives in the lone and murm'ring lake,
And the minstrel warbler's trill,
Which echoes in gladness o'er the brake,
That bends to the zephyr's will;
And it reigns on mountains huge and steep,
And lives in the yielding sod,
It rides with th' tempest over the deep,
And relates itself to God!
You bid me choose, and tell the name,
Of the object of my mind-
It lights my soul with a holy flame,
And speaks in a language kind;
It lingers most with the guileless youth,
Tho' from age it cannot part-
The name of the thing I choose is "Truth."
And treasure within my heart.
COME, GATHER IN YOUR MAJESTY.
Come, gather in your majesty,
Ye honest sons of Toil,
And nobly pledge, to bend the knee
No more on Albion's soil-
To worship at the shrine of Priests,
Or meekly in the dust,
To bear your load like laden beasts
Content, without disgust.
For Freedom's deep-ton'd tosin rings-
Aye! louder than of yore,
The right divine of Priests and Kings
All red with human gore.
Belief rejects-as Knowledge claims
A palace in the mind,
And men with higher hopes and aims,
Go forth to free their kind.
The car of Progress rolls along
In plain and mighty state,
And cramples many a tyrant wrong
Beneath its crushing weight;
And ye, who lag upon its wheels,
Or barricade its track,
Behold! each effort but reveals,
Ye cannot move it back!
What! will ye lick the tyrant's hand
That strikes ye to the ground,
Ye bulwarks of our Fatherland,
By slavish customs bound-
And pine in poverty and pain,
When Freedom's bright array
Is gath'ring fast upon the plain,
And bids ye come away?
By all the ties that bind the free,
By God's Eternal Law,
Unloose your chains of slavery,
Degrade mankind no more :
Ye need but hearts inspired with love
For all that's just and true,
To rise in majesty above
The rich and powerful few.
Oh, God! that men, in selfish pride,
Should fatten on the soil,
And for themselves, alone, divide
The surplus gains of toil;
Whilst mothers suckle at the breast,
With milk of human gall,
Infants, whose life-dawn is distrest
By want's child-murd'ring thrall.
Come, rouse ye in your giant power,
From lethargy awake!
The clouds that o'er ye darkly lower
Shall then for ever break!
The sun of freedom yet shall rise
In cloudless glory bright,
And men from slavery shall arise
Illumin'd by its light!
Dash down the cup Intemp'rance fills,
To madden every vein-
Go, drink of Nature's purer rills,
The health-preserving drain—
Nor let the frenzied oath molest,
The atmosphere of life,
For they alone are truly blest
Who free themselves from strife!
Deal honest with your fellow men,
And ever speak the truth,
Whether ye wield the tongue or pen,
Ye influence the youth;
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