The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1863-07-30
POETRY.
Written for the Press.
.Freed by the Proclamation"


BY MRS. 0. A. s. BEALE
Written on receiving a photograph Of beautiful
little girl who has been freed from slavery by the
Proclamation Of President Lincoln.
Soft blue eyes with mourning in them, curs of fax
en- hair,
Grace and beauty on thy brow, such as the angels
wear; ..,
Saxon features, strangely dimpled with the laden
smile;
Cheek and lip, and quivering eyelids, innocent Of
guile.
Little child, in terror shivering meath the thunder
cloud
Little child, crushed from thy birth beneath ma I
tons shroud;
The doom is clearly writ upon thee, though thy
cheek be fair;
What boots thy daintiness of lip, the sunshine thy
naar
The doom is clearly writ what eye but can its blight
ing trace
In the unspoken that sits upon thy cherub face
No free-born child hath ever known how heart of
child may pine,
Nor worn upon its April brow the sorrowing look of
thine
All! so soon the burden presses. and within thy
childish breast ttf..
Throbs the great true heart Of woman in prophetic
wild unrest
Throbs and burns, and beats its prison with dread
Of coming pain,
Looking up to God the Father, looking down upon
its chant
Now defyng fate and angels, now in weakness weep
ing sore
"God in Heaven. wilt thou hear in our praying
never moreln
So you cry poor little children, with blue eyes and
Saxon face;
So you cry poor colored children for the bondage Of
your race;
Thinking Of the morn that breaketh not upon your
bitter night,
Thinking of the master : praying for blessing
the right,
Butthe dear cd hath been listning with His great
heart running DER,
Stretching out His arm Of mercy DER a sin-poluted
Shore
Warning threatening proud ambition with the ven
geance Of His hand;
But it only pressed you closer meath the thong and
meath the brand.
Has It come-the lingering morning. with its streak
Of golden light,
Flooding with living beauty hearts long crushed
beneath the bghti
Has 1t come-the blessed edict--manhood acoman-
hood TO saver
Freed at last by proclamation" freed at last,
happy slave!
African, come up to manhood chains more shall
hold you back;
Freedoms mantle gathered round you, hounds no
longer scent your track
Woman outraged, while the snares have round thee
darkly thronged,
In thy cruel degradation eoery woman hath been
wronged
And every true heart of our sex hath turned Its
weight Of scorn
Upon the worlds great human lie, whence thy sad
doom was born.
Come, wash you clean by freedoms wells, cast all
your shackles down,
And strongly, as for life and death, your
woman's crown
And you, o, tender little ones with bright and fax
en- hairi
So much our own-so like our own sweet babes your
faces are AesA
We bid you shout with voices clear, your own glad
jubilee,
Catching upon your svery tones the accents Of the
PREF
And thou-poor little Fanny, whom gaze as
write,
Clear up the gloom that stteth on thy face Of Saxon
whitel r
Thou mightst have been princes child, with less
Of beauty's CLEAN,
And less Of pure and noble thought, than through
thine eyelids beam
Thou hast escaped thy dreadful doom; no thought
shall harm thee now;
Nor masters vile and treach'rous lip proiane thy
youthful brow,
Nor wife betrayed shall look on thee, and in her
deride,
For that thy beauty had ensnared-the demon at her
side
The chain Is broke--through blood and tears.
nations life hath flowed
White veins have opened. crimson plains have in the
sunset giowed.
nations heart hath swelled pain; her have
been thinned
Her banners trailed that proud high and once float
ed on the wind.
The tyrant's grasp upon her throat was firm; God
had he,
Save proud ambition sitting high enthroned on
Stdrery.
Then take your freedom fresh from God who spake
by blood and pang,
The thunder Of the lannon's mouth the battles SOL
emn clang!
And blessings on His name, that in nations
deathlyEloom,
HIS angel hath rolled back the stone that lay upon
her tomb.
MACHINERY
Steam and Gas Fittings, &c.
TIyHE subscriber would inform his friends and the
u public, that he may be found at
81 UNION STREET,
until his shop is rebuilt ready to any orders
for steam, gas and water pipes.
Steam and Gas Fittings OF all descriptions.
viii also attend to fitting the above for steam or
gas.
Orders received for Pattern making, and Steam
and other machinery. Boilers, Water Tanks, &C.
Will devote his personal attention to arrang ing
and setting Engines Boilers, Skating, reasonable
terms. IRA WYNN Agent
decl6dtf
PAINT! PAINT!