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 SECOND EDITION, 
 
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 Copy right secured. 
 

 AFRICA. 
 
 In the sublimity of Nature's silence, 
 
 Profound, thou sitt'st a queen among the nations ; 
 
 And mark'st, with regal pride, thy wide domain. 
 
 Thy trackless deserts, unexplored by man, 
 
 Spread 'neath the smile of heaven's meridian sun, 
 
 Shining in vain upon their barrenness : 
 
 While sister realms, rejoicing in his beams, 
 
 His kindly influence own, and grateful bloom, 
 
 Adorned with richest fruits, and fairest flowers. 
 
 Thy mountains dark, magnificently rude, 
 
 Sky-bearing Atlas owning as their peer, 
 
 Lift their proud heads to heav'n. Thy golden mines 
 
 Yield their bright treasures to thy diadem. 
 
 Within thy spreading borders, generous Nile, 
 
 King of thy rivers, with a monarch's pride, 
 
 Majestic rolls his deep and mighty waters, 
 
 Bearing fertility through all his range. 
 
 Here Niger winds his silent, secret way, 
 
 Where human step has never trod, sublime 
 
 In the dark myst'ry of his untrack'd course. 
 
 Populous and powerful kingdoms rise to adorn 
 
4 AFRICA. 
 
 Thy far-extending sceptre. — With fix'd gaze 
 
 Departed ages, in their mighty march, 
 
 Have mark'd thy greatness. On thy land arose. 
 
 Cloudless and beautiful, the glorious smile 
 
 Of star-crown'd Science, empress of the mind ; 
 
 Beyond Tradition's power to tell the day 
 
 When her bright eye first beam'd upon thy sight. 
 
 When Time was young, divine Philosophy, 
 
 Casting abroad through Nature's boundless realms 
 
 Her piercing glance, pursued her lofty march 
 
 Of moral grandeur, visited thy shores, 
 
 A.nd dure, content, made her illustrious home. 
 
 The list'ning world has heard of Egypt's fame : 
 
 The arts of life flourished unrivall'd here, 
 
 Ere polished Greece was known, or the fair name 
 
 Of classic Italy, had pleased the ear. 
 
 She still survives : — Egypt, whose mighty works, 
 
 Proud in unmov'd, unbending loftiness, 
 
 Mock the rude power of Time, and smile atocean's roar 
 
 Rising in beauty, see the far-famed Thebes, 
 
 Qi ii of thy cities, with her hundred gates: — 
 
 Thebes, t!".' proud theme of poesy ; the boast, 
 
 Of those who love to mark the historic page 
 
 W nil glorious names, whose deathless fame shall live. 
 
 Till years .shall cease to move their wonted rounds. 
 
 M< tnphis, renown'd of old, survives in story. 
 
 W here Pharos 1 lofty tower, of spotless marble. 
 
 Risi - in -il. nt majesty, the wonder 
 
 ( M p "i ages, and a gazing world, 
 
 S< i Alexandria, rich in classic lore, 
 
AFRICA. 
 
 Once the fam'd seat of splendid royalty, 
 Magnificent in ruin, meets the eye 
 That loves to view the distant step of years, 
 Gone by forever, mingling silently 
 With that eventful day when Time was born. 
 What monuments of ancient glory mark 
 That site where, erst, imperial Dido rear'd 
 The lofty walls and towers of royal Carthage ! 
 Rival of splendid Rome, and mistress of the wave. 
 Here Juno's beauteous fane the princess rais'd, 
 Magnificent, and brought to grace its state, 
 Gifts worthy of a queen : and here, reflecting 
 The glorious splendors of the mid-day sun, 
 Apollo's golden temple charm'd the eye. 
 The living monuments of human skill 
 Have long survived their builders. With a voice 
 Mighty in silence, they proclaim the frailty 
 Of hands, that wrought for latest time ; — the power, 
 Which death can ne'er destroy, of minds, that plann'd 
 Deeds so stupendous : — minds, the wondrous work 
 Of that great Architect, whose powerful word 
 Call'd the fair fabric of the universe 
 From night and chaos ; — whose almighty hand 
 On gloomy nothing hung the pond'rous earth ; — 
 Who spread with matchless skill the starry heavens. 
 And gave the sun his light : — whose inspiration 
 Bestows on man the wisdom and the power, 
 Which make his works immortal. 
 Land of the Palm ! the passing flood of time, 
 The rush of years unnumber'd, has not swept 
 1* 
 
G AFRICA. 
 
 Thy glory from the earth. Flourishing cities. 
 And royal palaces, and splendid fanes, 
 Proclaim thee empress still. — Commercial Cairo 
 Sends her white sails over the mountain wave ; 
 Her num'rous spires in silent grandeur rise ; 
 Her lofty ramparts give the wond'ring eye 
 A scene magnificent and beautiful, 
 Which holds in worldless joy, the stranger's gaze. 
 And see, invincible in Nature's strength, 
 Where rock-built Constantina now succeeds 
 To famous Cirta, once Numidia's bulwark. 
 Thy beauteous valley, Fez, in olden time 
 Fair Science' favour'd home, presents a view 
 Luxuriant and lovely. — Dark Algiers, 
 Like a proud princess, from her hilly throne, 
 Looks out in glory on the stormy sea, 
 The admiration of the mariner. 
 Thy kingdoms, Nubia, Bornou, Caslma, spread, 
 Powerful and wide, where the advent'rous step 
 Of foreign man has seldom dar'd to explore. — 
 Empress of ancient time ! with pensive sigh 
 Thou gazest on the ruins of the past, 
 In desolation grand ! With regal jov 
 Thou mark'st the glories of thy later day ; 
 And still thy proud eye smiles upon thy realms, 
 
 For still thou art a queen. What dismal sound 
 
 Bursts fearfully on the astonish'd ear, 
 Chilling the heart with nameless dread — hist ! hist ! 
 The waitings of deep-felt woe, as if the sword 
 Of desolation, with reckless force, had sever'd 
 
AFRICA. 
 
 The tenderest ties thai bind man to his kind ; 
 
 Leaving the heart in untold agony, 
 
 Bleeding at every pore, widi wounds so deep, 
 
 That human accents cannot speak their pain, 
 
 And earth can yield no balm to sooth their anguish. 
 
 Again ! — what mean these shouts of misery ? 
 
 It is the voice of lamentation deep ! 
 
 Ah ! why does she who lately stood a queen, 
 
 Now, clothed in sackcloth, spurn the hand of pit}-. 
 
 Refusing to be comforted ? — She weeps 
 
 Her captive sons, rent from her bleeding bosom, 
 
 And leaving there a grief " that will not heal.'''' 
 
 A demon hand tears from the mother's arms 
 
 The smiling babe, and gives the years of manhood 
 
 To toil, and bitterest woe. — How many hearts, 
 
 Rich in the charities of Nature, bleed 
 
 Over the miseries of kindred hearts, 
 
 Exil'd from home and country ! Slavery ! 
 
 This is thy work ! ! 
 
 Shame ! shame ! the son of heaven, the lord of earth. 
 Noble, erect, born in the image of God, 
 Rears bis bold front, and buys, and sells — his brother ! 
 Traffics in human flesh ! — Oh ! hide thy face, 
 Proud man ! — let darkness cover thee forever; 
 Lest the bright sun should blush to see thy deeds. 
 
 The fell Simoom, 
 On whose dark wing Death rides in dreadful triumph, 
 Is gentle as the breath of early morn, 
 Is soft as spring's first zephyrs, when compar'd 
 With thy foul atmosphere, Oppression, fraught 
 
AFRICA. 
 
 With direst woe to every living thing 
 That comes within its blasting influence. 
 
 Thy sandy wilds, Zahara, 
 Bloom with the charms of Eden, to the laud, 
 Accurs'd, where Slav'ry wields his iron sceptre. 
 The basilisk, that lures with deadly charm 
 His unresisting victim, is kind and harmless. — 
 Lybia ! the dreadful natives of thy deserts 
 Are gentle and tame — the monsters of thy rivers, 
 Noxious no more, are beautiful, and mild ; — 
 The treacherous crocodile is fair as day — 
 Serpents, and horrible things, of deadliest name, 
 Are lovely, to the fiend in human form, 
 Who enslaves his fellow ! — 'tis a monstrous sight ! 
 In deep abhorrence nature stands aghast ! 
 And all that's noble in man, cries out in shame 
 At the foul deed ! 
 
 Can beings, 
 Who dwell beneath the fostering smile of heaven, 
 And gaze upon creation's loveliness, 
 Commit such acts abhorrent ? — Regal power 
 Has given its royal sanction to deeds at which 
 Angels might weep ! — Aye ! boasted human law 
 Has wink'd at crime ! — The mighty and the mean, 
 Have join'd in a vile trade, on whose black works 
 The stars of heaven might be asham'd to shine ! 
 
 But there is yet on earth, — 
 Even on this globe where man degrades his name, 
 One bless'd asylum from the tyrant's power; 
 
AFRICA. 
 
 One dear retreat, where the oppress'd is free. 
 
 Land of the happy ! there the race of man, 
 
 Link'd in one holy tie of brotherhood, 
 
 Worship one common Father ; and the path 
 
 Of human pilgrimage cheer with the flowers ; — 
 
 The beauteous flowers of mutual love and kindness. — 
 
 Land of the free — the happy ! — in thy bosom 
 
 The slave will find a refuge. — Weary, sick, 
 
 At scenes of human woe, and human crime, 
 
 Pair western world — asylum for the wretched — 
 
 My travelled spirit seeks thy peaceful realm, 
 
 Where Oppression's arm must wither ; and the fiend 
 
 Would never dare to utter his demon voice, 
 
 Even in a whisper. — Sad and weary heart ! 
 
 Turn thee, with pensive joy, to seek thy home. 
 
 Is it a dream I 
 
 A wild and dreadful vision of the night, 
 
 When deep sleep falls on man ! or do I see, 
 
 In waking horror, a monstrous form, so frightful, 
 
 That human language finds no softer name 
 
 To express its hideous deformity, 
 
 Than Slavery — direst sound ! — Is it a dream . ? 
 
 Or do I hear a voice of dreadtul import, 
 
 The wild and mingling groans of writhing millions, 
 
 Calling for vengeance on my guilty land ! 
 
 Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes 
 A fount of tears ! — Columbia ! in thy bosom 
 Can slavery dwell ? — Then is thy fame a lie ! 
 Oppression lifts his hideous, gorgon head, 
 Beneath the eye of Freedom I /—Oh my country ! 
 
10 AFRICA. 
 
 This deep anathema — this direst evil, 
 
 " Like a foul hlot on thy dishonour'd brow," 
 
 Mars all thy beaut)- ; and thy far-fam'd glory 
 
 Is but a gilded toy, for fools to play with ! 
 
 For in the mock'ry of thy boasted freedom, 
 
 Thou smil'st, with deadly joy, on human woe ! 
 
 Thy soil is nourished with tears and blood ! — Columbia ! 
 
 O let the deepest blush of honest shame 
 
 Crimson thy cheek ! for vile Oppression walks 
 
 Within thy borders ! — rears his brazen front 
 
 'Neath thy unchiding eye ! — Oh tell it not 
 
 In Gath, lest those who worship idol gods 
 
 Laugh thee to scorn, and cry, in mad derision, 
 
 Behold what Christians do !* 
 
 Will the spirit 
 Of free-born man yield to the galling chain, 
 Which binds his flesh ? Can toil, and stripes, and death, 
 Subdue the soul ? — Oppression's ruthless hand 
 M;i\ fetter the limbs: — the immortal mind is free. 
 Let tyrants tremble on their tott'ring thrones ! 
 L''t the proud man who dares to call his brother, 
 Form'd by the same Hand that gave liim life, 
 B) the vile name of Slave, start with dismay, 
 Like 1 1 i in of old, Belshazzar, when, (all else 
 Invisible, wrapt in the dreadful veil 
 01 mystery,) a hand, the monarch saw. 
 
 * (tough! to bi remembered, with deep self-abasement, t lint the slave trade has 
 
 found tin I i ii abettors among nations nominally Christian. According to 
 
 the most judicious calculations, Africa Ims beon drained annually of 150,000 of" its 
 inhabitant and— shameful acknowledgment ' the great receptacles of this unhap- 
 leon the West Indies, and the United States. A million and a half are 
 '. to ■ tisl i ir own free country. Mem. of Be v. S. J. Mills, i>i>. 121, 122. 
 
AFRICA. 11 
 
 (Belonging not to earth,) writing his doom, 
 
 In worlds felt, though they could not be decipher'd. 
 
 There is a spirit in man, that will not bend 
 
 To the tyrant's frown ! — Mark yon portentous cloud, 
 
 Rising from ocean's bosom. — See ! it spreads, 
 
 More dense and dreadful. — Is it the distant noise 
 
 Of mutt'ring thunder — ('tis a strange, wild sound !) 
 
 That breaks so fearfully upon the sense f 
 
 As the mad mingling of many voices 
 
 It steals on the affrighted ear of night ; 
 
 And all again is calm and still as death ! 
 ******* 
 
 The storm has burst ! — Ah ! that tremendous crash 
 Shook the strong hold of giant Tyranny ; 
 And rent the prison walls of captive thousands. 
 — Rejoice, Humanity ! the slave is free !* 
 In the proud liberty which Nature gave 
 He stands, a man, and lo ! his cruel tyrant 
 Quakes, like a coward, 'neath his blazing eye. 
 
 Ah ! still the sound is heard, 
 Of lamentation deep, of anguish wild, 
 Within thy borders, boasted land of Freedom ! 
 Columbia ! thou the poet's glorious theme ; 
 The patriot's pride ; whose mild and equal laws 
 The high-soul'd statesman charm ; and cheer the heart 
 Of blest Philanthropy. — Among thy mountains, 
 The battlements of nature, Liberty, 
 
 * The Revolution in St. Domingo, to use the language of an able writer, " threw 
 upon the world two organized and independent states of Negroes, a sight never be- 
 fore witnessed, and that too by an awful eruption in the centre of that part of the 
 world which is most deeply laden with sins against Afriea." 
 
12 AFRICA. 
 
 Weary of courts, with a proud smile has plac'd 
 
 Her eagle-home : — and yet — Oh shame ! shame ! shame ! 
 
 The waitings of the Slave are heard within thee ! 
 
 — But hark ! a voice sweet as the songs of heaven. 
 
 Pours on the ear delightful melody, 
 
 Charming the soul to peace. — It is the voice 
 
 Of holy Charity, breathing in sounds 
 
 Blissful and pure, Let the oppressed go free ! 
 
 Millions of hearts, touch'd by the love of heaven, 
 
 With lofty joy respond the harmonious strains, 
 
 Let the oppressed go free ! — Thou great Deliverer ! 
 
 Who cam'st from glory to redeem the slave ; — 
 
 To preach a full salvation to the lost, 
 
 And joy to mourners — 'twas the pure religion 
 
 Taught by thy voice divine, inspir'd the strain. — 
 
 It was the spirit of thy Gospel, breath'd 
 
 That holy, happy song, omnipotent 
 
 In melody, and melting cruel hearts 
 
 To tenderest deeds of love. — Fair Pity weeps 
 
 Tears of delight. — My raptur'd spirit ! hail, 
 
 /( ithjoy unspeakable, and full of glory, 
 
 A blissful hour, a bright and cloudless morn, 
 
 Rising in beauty on the land I love ! 
 
 For see ! the hydra-monster, Slavery, 
 
 Flies from that land, in dire dismay, to hide 
 
 His horrid visage in eternal night. 
 
 Fair dreams of hope, visions of future time, 
 
 All beautiful and glorious, rise before me. — 
 
 Children of Afric ! poor afflicted ones ! 
 
 The day will come, when all your wrongs shall cease. 
 
AFRICA. 13 
 
 The day will come, when Slav'ry's iron rod 
 
 No more shall wound. — Ye shall return in peace 
 
 To your own land — Your natal shores shall echo 
 
 With shouts of praise — The songs of captives ransom'd 
 
 From th' power of the enemy, shall sound 
 
 Through all your realms, and till the world with joy. 
 
 In glad expectance of that blissful day, 
 
 Already see, with looks of soul-felt peace, 
 
 A little band, the happy pioneers 
 
 Of exile hearts restor'd, and ransom'd millions, 
 
 Led by a noble spirit of that race* 
 
 Which long has vvrith'd beneath Oppression's power, 
 
 Towards ocean turn their animated steps, 
 
 To seek their fathers' land : — their fathers, torn 
 
 With ruthless hand from the delights of home, 
 
 The sympathies of kindred and affection, 
 
 And all those tender, powerful, nameless, ties, 
 
 Which bind the heart to the land that gave it being. 
 
 With smiles of hope they trust the friendly wave ; 
 
 And soon the winds of heaven shall waft them home. 
 
 We gaze a kind farewell, with tears of love. 
 
 * Paul Cuft'ee was a distinguished ornament of the African race ; and though ed 
 ucated in all the obscurity and penury of the great body of men of colour, rose lu 
 affluence, respectability, and distinction, by the energy of a mind that was equal to 
 the noblest enterprise, and the benevolence of a heart singularly devoted to doing 
 good. Long will the sympathies of Paul be remembered in behalf of degenerate Af- 
 rica. No cause lay nearer his heart than t he intellectual, civil, and moral elevation 
 of that injured people. To advance this cause ho undertook, at bis own expense, and 
 in his own vessel, an expedition to the British settlement at Sierra Leone. He 
 went to England for the purpose of suggesting his views to the managers of the Ai" 
 rican Institution, and after his return made a second voyage to Sierra Leone, carry- 
 ing with him about forty persons of his own colour, with the view of commencing 
 a settlement on the soil of his fore-fathers, having expended in the enterprise nearly 
 $4000 from bis own privite resources. Mem. of Rev. S. J. Mills, 
 
 It will be recollected that the expedition of Paul was made previous to the forma- 
 tion of the American Colonization Society. The writer hopes that its introdution 
 as a subsequent event will be pardoned as an acknoicUdgcd anachronism. 
 
I r AFRICA. 
 
 — But who is this meets our returning view r 
 
 lli^ heaven-ward eye is bright with holy hope, 
 
 And Charity's celestial smile : — and see ! 
 
 Another — and another, animate 
 
 With pure benevolence, and Christian zeal ; 
 
 Fill'd with that love whose generous sympathies 
 
 Regard all nations, and embrace a world, 
 
 Pursue their pathless way through storm and darkness, 
 
 To the land whose wrongs have fill'd their waking thoughts, 
 
 And grieved with dreams of woe their nightly rest. 
 
 Their prayer is heard ! they reach that injur'd land : — 
 
 They meet her noble sons.* Her lofty chiefs 
 
 Extend the generous hand, kind nature's token, 
 
 And greet the strangers with a smile of peace. 
 
 And now, beneath the canopy of heaven, 
 
 Within the luxuriant shade of orange groves, 
 
 They meet in friendly council with the men 
 
 From a clime beyond the ocean ; and discourse. 
 
 With mutual confidence, for Afric's good, 
 
 Seeking her peace. — And see that aged man, 
 
 Over whose venerable head have fallen 
 
 The snows of many a winter, feebly turns 
 
 His tott'ring steps, and asks, in accents mild, 
 
 Of those who on a pilgrimage of kindness 
 
 Cross'd the tempestuous wave, the word of God,f 
 
 • I am struck with wonder at the appearance of the native Africans. Thesicklv 
 
 and depressed counte <■>■ of b Philadelphia coloured man is not to be seen anion «st 
 
 I noble aspect, a dignified mien— a frank and open countenance,— the en- 
 
 inoi <•! the wild man!— Sir.it is worth a voyage to Africa to seethe Kroo- 
 
 rrom a private letter of the late Rev. Samuel Bacon, Agent of the 
 
 in Government lor persons liberated from slave ships on the coaBt of Africa . 
 
 t One man whose hair and beard were white with age, said he wished to hear 
 out 6od> Book before he died, Jlfem. of Ret. STJ. Mill* «"m." 
 
AFRICA. 1 5 
 
 That he may hear, and live. And there is one, 
 
 A youth of princely blood, and lofty port.* 
 
 He feels the desolation of his land, 
 
 And mourns her griefs. — His dark and pensive eye 
 
 Ts fixed upon the strangers ; and with hope, 
 
 Shaded by fear, he marks the cloudless day 
 
 When foreign foot-steps press'd his native shore. 
 ******** 
 
 The noiseless wing of Time, 
 Unwearied in his mighty energies, 
 Sublime, yet viewless, silent, yet unceasing, 
 Has number'd years. — Death has pursued his march 
 Through earth, and many a mighty one has fallen 
 Beneath his stroke resistless. — Deeds of fame 
 Have been achiev'd. — The mad and busy world 
 Repeats its giddy rounds, and laughs, and dies ! 
 Yet, land belov'd ! thy cause is not forgot. 
 O there are hearts, even in this heartless world, 
 Cherish for thee one bright and precious hope : 
 Thy glad deliv'rance from the barb'rous hand 
 Of human bondage, and thy blest release 
 From that more cruel yoke which binds the soul. 
 The lofty powers of mind are engaged for thee. 
 Manly and noble spirits are at work 
 In thy dear cause, for thy eternal peace. 
 For thee Affection breathes her gentle sigh ; 
 
 * Kong Coubet walked along the shore with us, and giving us his hand, said, " God 
 bless you, and give you a good voyage to your country-" While we gave sail he sat 
 down under an orange tree, apparently pensive and melancholy. This prince is con- 
 scious of the depressed condition of his people, and the barbarous state of his coun- 
 try. He sighs for their improvement. Mem. of Rev. S. J. Milts. 
 
l AFRICA. 
 
 For woman's heart, in its deep, pure tenderness, 
 Remembers Africa.— How many prayers 
 Ascend for thy salvation, in the name 
 ( )f that high Priest, who bears upon his heart. 
 The oppress'd and sorrowful ! — and — dearer title ! 
 In the name of that good Shepherd, who hath said, 
 
 Ind other sheep I have, not of this fold ; 
 
 Them also I must bring ; and they shall hear 
 
 My voice, and there shall he onefold, one Shepherd, 
 
 Who are these, 
 With holy, happy smile, and solemn step, 
 
 Entering the consecrated house of prayer, 
 
 \s if they lov'd to tread its sacred aisles? 
 ******** 
 
 Delightful scene ! 
 I view it still.* Divine Philanthropy 
 Smil'd on the glorious work. — The church of God 
 Bless'd the propitious hour. — A multitude 
 Stood in the stillness of entranced hope, 
 And breathless expectation. — Witnesses 
 Invisible were there ! — rMyriads of spirits, 
 Redeem'd from earth, hover'd around the place 
 With joy that swells to sweeter, loftier strains, 
 The songs of heaven, when one repenting sinner 
 Turns to his God, and meets forgiving love. 
 The shining hosts above — the orders bright 
 Of angels, natives of th' etherial plains, 
 Bend from their seats of bliss, and for a moment 
 
 * This little poem was suggested by 'ho recollection of the recent services in Park 
 meeting house, Boston, for the purpose of organizing an African church, con- 
 r.i-iniL' of persona aboul to embark for the Colony at Liberia, 
 
AVKH \. 17 
 
 Forget their golden harps, their hymns of joy. — 
 Silence sublime ! 
 
 The prayer of faith ascends 
 For the little exile band, naming themselves 
 By Israel's name, — subscribing with their hands 
 To Israel's God. — Then bursts the rapt'rous strain 
 Of glory and of praise, from countless myriads ! 
 As on the birth-day of a new creation 
 The morning stars again together sing ; <", 
 And all the sons of God shout with new joy 
 The holy melody of that blest anthem, 
 Which gladden'd mortal ear when Judea's shepherds 
 Watch'd midst the starry night. — Glory to God — 
 On earth peace — and good will to offending man. 
 The deed of that blest hour is register'd 
 In the archives of Eternity ! — what tongue 
 Shall dare predict the effect unspeakable, 
 Forming a link in that mysterious chain 
 Connecting Time and Heaven ! — The grand result 
 Belongs, Eternity, to thee ! — The power 
 Of Seraphs cannot grasp it ! — Finite minds, 
 Howe'er in knowledge elevate, in thought 
 Profound, are impotent to reach the deep, — 
 The mighty secret ! — But the glorious future ; — 
 The long, the interminable day of heaven, 
 When Suns are dark, and Time shall be no more, 
 Will prove the amazing influence of that hour, — ■ 
 That little hour! upon the happiness 
 Of multitudes born for immortal life. 
 'Tis done ! — Upon the dark and troubled deep. 
 
18 AFRICA. 
 
 A little ark, guarded by Him who holds 
 
 Within their appointed bounds the mighty waves. 
 
 Bears to the bosom of their native land 
 
 The infant church. — Afric ! thy exile sons 
 
 Come home to thee with joy, bringing the Word. 
 
 — The precious word of life, to cheer thy shores 
 
 With tidings of Salvation. — Thou ! whose voice. 
 
 Omnipotent in its almighty love, 
 
 Speaks to the raging storm, and all is calm ! 
 
 In safety lead this little ransom'd band 
 
 Through the wilderness of waters, as of old 
 
 Thy people thou didst lead, through pathless wilds, 
 
 To th' Land of Promise. — Let thy matchless power 
 
 G lide and protect them — thy parental love 
 
 Bless them, and give them peace. — 
 
 Bright ey'd Hope, 
 To thy fair shores, Liberia, wings her flight, 
 Companion'd by her elder sister, Faith, 
 And heaven-descended Charity. — They hail 
 The destin'd home of ocean's pilgrims. — Here 
 Nature assumes her loveliest smiles, to greet 
 
 The oppressed set free. — My ardent spirit seeks, 
 Swifter than winds and waves, the blooming realm, 
 
 \ii<! waits to hail the exile band restor'd 
 To their fathers' birth place. — See ! the sails are furl'd. 
 They come ! — they raise upon the sea-beat shore 
 Their song of praise to Him who held the waters 
 
 lu his almighty hand, who bade the tempest 
 
 lii' still, ami all was peace. 
 
 Within this beauteous land has the sweet voice 
 
AFRICA. 19 
 
 Of praise to the true God gladden'd the ear 
 
 Of listening nature ere this happy hour? — 
 
 — Hark ! — even now I heard celestial strains 
 
 Mingle unutterably with the songs 
 
 Of those who love, though they- have never seen, 
 
 Their ascended Lord. — And see ! what forms of light, 
 
 Hov'ring around this little band, appear 
 
 Like visitants from heaven. — These are the spirits, 
 
 Made perfect, of men who died for love of thee, 
 
 Poor Africa ! — and now their ransom'd souls, 
 
 Redeem'd from death, joy in the rising light 
 
 Of a blest day, whose glorious dawn they haiPd 
 
 On that dear land in which their faithful hearts 
 
 Repose in hope, resting in Him who died 
 
 That man might live, — in Him who is alive 
 
 Forevermore. 
 
 What visions rise 
 Before the eye of Faith ! — my spirit, burst 
 Thy earthly tenement, and look abroad, 
 With raptured inspiration, on the land, 
 For which, with love that waters cannot quench, 
 The self-devoted Mills resigned his breath, 
 And made his grave in ocean. — On the land 
 Where Bacon, pure and ardent being ! sleeps, 
 In Him, the Resurrection and the life. 
 See ! this devoted band from distant shores, 
 More firmly plant in their own fathers' land 
 The glorious standard of the Prince of peace, 
 Rais'd by their elder brothers in that cause, 
 

 JO AFRIl A. 
 
 Which must prevail, till Ethiopia, 
 In all her realms, shall stretch her hands to God. 
 \ es ! the untiring eye of holy Faith 
 Pierces the intervening clouds, that darken 
 Her glorious prospect. — Where the orgies fell 
 Of idol gods were kept, the human knee 
 Bows in the name of Jesus ; and the heart 
 Of rebel man yields to redeeming love, 
 
 \nd owns him Lord. See ! demon temples fail 
 
 Before the march sublime of pure religion. 
 
 Listen ! — The praises of the great I AM 
 
 Sound where the heart-appalling shouts were heard 
 
 Of demon worship. Africa ! the Spirit 
 
 Of peace shall dwell within thee. — 'Neath its power, 
 .Mighty in love, Oppression's iron arm 
 Shall be subdu'd. — To thy maternal bosom 
 Thy captive sons shall flock, as weary doves, 
 
 And find repose. One universal shout 
 
 Proclaims, () Africa, thy children free — 
 
 Thy days of mourning ended. 'Tis the song 
 
 Of holy triumph ! — thy accepted year 
 Has come, — thy eternal year of Jubilee. 
 
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