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Riverside Ed. The Writings of John Greenleaf Whittier ...
Riverside Ed The Writings of John Greenleaf Whittier Author:John Greenleaf Whittier Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: With uprolled eyeballs and on bended knee, Whining a prayer for help to hide the key! 1853. THE RENDITION. On the 2d of Jane, 1854, Anthony I!urns, a fugit... more »ive glave from Virginia, after being under arrest for ten days in the Boston Court House, was remanded to slavery under the Fugitive Slave Act, and taken down State Street to a steamer chartered by the United States Government, under guard of United States troops and artillery, Massachusetts militia and Boston police. Public excitement ran high, a futile attempt to rescue Burns having been made during his confinement, and the streets were crowded with tens of thousands of people, of whom many came from other towns and cities of the State to witness the humiliating spectacle. I Heard the train's shrill whistle call, I saw an earnest look beseech, And rather by that look than speech My neighbor told me all And, as I thought of Liberty Marched handcuffed down that sworded street, The solid earth beneath my feet Eeeled fluid as the sea. I felt a sense of bitter loss, — Shame, tearless grief, and stifling wrath, And loathing fear, as if my path A serpent stretched across. All love of home, all pride of place, All generous confidence and trust, Sank smothering in that deep disgust And anguish of disgrace. Down on my native hills of June, And home's green quiet, hiding all, Fell sudden darkness like the fall Of midnight upon noon I And Law, an unloosed maniac, strong, Blood-drunken, through the blackness trod, Hoarse-shouting in the ear of God The blasphemy of wrong. " O Mother, from thy memories proud, Thy old renown, dear Commonwealth, Lend this dead air a breeze of health, And smite with stars this cloud. " Mother of Freedom, wise and brave, Rise awful in thy strength," ...« less