Slavery—True Freedom.

UNCHRISTIAN thought! on what pretence soe'er
Of right, inherited, or else acquired;

Of loss or profit, or what plea you name,
To buy and sell, to barter, whip, and hold
In chains, a being of celestial make;

Of kindred form, and kindred faculties,
Of kindred feelings, passions, thoughts, desires,
Born free, and heir of an immortal hope;
Thought villainous, absurd, detestable,
Unworthy to be harboured in a fiend!
And only over-reached in wickedness
By that, birth too of earthly liberty,
Which aimed to make a reasonable man
By legislation think, and by the sword
Believe. This was that liberty renowned,
Those equal rights of Greece and Rome, where men
All but a few, were bought and sold, and scourged,
And killed, as interest or caprice enjoined;
In aftertimes talked of, writ of so much,
That most, by sound and custom led away,
Believed the essence answered to the name.
Historians on this theme were long and warm ;
Statesmen, drunk with the fumes of vain debate,
In lofty, swelling phrase, called it perfection;

SLAVERY-TRUE FREEDOM

Philosophers its rise, advance, and fall,

Traced carefully and poets kindled still,

137

As memory brought it up, their lips were touched
With fire, and uttered words which men adored.
Even he, the bard of Zion, holy man,

To whom the Bible taught this precious verse—
"He is the freeman whom the truth makes free!"
By fashion, though by fashion little swayed,
Scarce kept his harp from pagan freedom's praise.

The captive prophet, whom Jehovah gave
The future years, described it best, when he
Beheld it rise in vision of the night :
A dreadful beast, and terrible, and strong
Exceedingly, with mighty iron teeth;
And lo! it brake in pieces, and devoured,
And stamped the residue beneath its feet.

True Liberty was Christian, sanctified, Baptized, and found in Christian hearts alone; First-born of Virtue! daughter of the skies! Nursling of Truth divine! sister of all The graces, meekness, holiness, and love! Giving to God, and man, and all below, That symptom showed of sensible existence, Their due unasked; fear to whom fear was due; To all, respect, benevolence, and love :

138

SLAVERY TRUE FREEDOM.

Companion of Religion! where she came, There Freedom came; where dwelt, there Freedom dwelt ;

Ruled where she ruled, expired when she expired.

"He was the freeman whom the truth made free!"
Who first of all the bands of Satan broke :
Who broke the bonds of sin; and for his soul,
In spite of fools consulted seriously;
In spite of fashion persevered in good;
In spite of wealth or poverty upright;
Who did as Reason, not as Fancy, bade;
Who heard Temptation sing, yet turnèd not
Aside; saw Sin bedeck her flowery bed,
And yet would not go up; felt at his heart
The sword unsheathed, yet would not sell the truth;
Who, having power, had not the will to hurt ;
Who blushed alike to be, or have, a slave;

Who blushed at nought but sin, feared nought but
God;

Who, finally, in strong integrity

Of soul, mid want, or riches, or disgrace,

Uplifted. calmly sat, and heard the waves

Of stormy folly breaking at his feet,

Now shrill with praise, now hoarse with foul reproach, And both despised sincerely; seeking this

Alone the approbation of his God.

Which still with conscience witnessed to his peace.

THE LAND WHICH NO MORTAL MAY KNOW.

This, this is Freedom, such as angels use,
And kindred to the liberty of God.

139

First-born of Virtue! daughter of the skies; The man, the state, in whom she ruled, was free! All else were slaves of Satan, Sin, and Death!

POLLOK.

The Land which no Mortal may know.

THOUGH Earth has full many a beautiful spot,
As a poet or painter might show :

Yet more lovely and beautiful, holy, and bright, To the hopes of the heart, and the spirit's glad sight,

Is the land that no mortal may know.

There the crystalline stream bursting forth from the throne,

Flows on, and for ever will flow;

Its waves, as they roll, are with melody rife,
And its waters are sparkling with beauty and life,
In the land which no mortal may know.

And there on its margin, with leaves ever green,
With its fruits healing sickness and woe,
The fair Tree of Life, in its glory and pride,
Is fed by that deep inexhaustible tide

Of the land which no mortal may know.

140 THE LAND WHICH NO MORTAL MAY KNOW.

There, too, are the lost, whom we loved on this

earth,

With whose mem'ries our bosoms yet glow ! Their relics we gave to the place of the dead, But their glorified spirits before us have fled To the land which no mortal may know.

There the pale orb of night, and the fountain of day, Nor beauty nor splendour bestow;

But the presence of HIM, the unchanging I AM, And the holy, the pure, the immaculate LAMB, Light the land which no mortal may know.

O who but must pine, in this dark vale of tears, From its clouds and its shadows to go

To walk in the light of the glory above,

And to share in the peace and the joy and the love Of the land which no mortal may know?

BERNARD BARTON.