XLVI.
Then low, on bended knees, he drops to own
The Heaven-born vision, and his soul declare;
His wife and children, near him kneeling down,
Send up their hearts upon the wings of prayer;
The dusky tribes, in crescent round them shown,
Give ear;—hill, vale and forest listeners are;
Force to each word their faithful echoes lend,
And with their Ruler's prayers their own ascend.
XLVII.
"Mysterious Power! who dost in wonders speak,
We note thy tokens and their import spell;
Let Persecution still its vengeance wreak—
Let its fierce billows roll with mountain swell,
Here must we Anchor, and their force repel.
Here, more securely, shall our bannered State
Blazon the conscience sacred—ever free;
Here shall she breast the coming storms of fate
And ride triumphant o'er the raging sea,
Her well-cast Anchor here, her lasting Hope in Thee!
XLVIII.
"Here, thy assurance gives our wanderings rest,
And shows where all our future toils must be;
Lord! be our labors by thy mercies blest,
And send their fruits to far posterity;
Let our example still the Conscience free,
Where'er she is by tyrant force enchained,
And while the thraldom lasts, Oh! let her see
Her safety here, where, ever unprofaned
By persecution, her free altars are maintained.
