(SUNG AT THE CELEBRATION OF THE I. O. O. F.)
The night cometh swiftly, the thick clouds are drifting
Around the dark mountains that rampart the plain;
The storm, its tumultuous surges uplifting,
Is calling its hosts to the foray again.
The surf, white with foam, round the sun madly dashes,
As waves dash against a lone ship near the shore;
The lightning at intervals gloomily flashes,
And over the plain moans the thunder's hoarse roar.
The night comes with darkness,—the night conies with terror,
The storm with his armies rides fast by her side,—
Wo, wo, to the way-farer wand'ring in error,
To whom the glad sight of his home is denied!
Lo! weary and way-worn comes fainting a stranger,
Whose feet with their blood stain the pitiless ground;—
Where, where shall we seek for a refuge from danger,
Where hide when the storm hurls its arrows around?
Lo! feeble with terror his weak footsteps falter,
He thinks with despair of the pleasures of home,
He seemeth a victim, the desert an altar,
The far-flashing lightning his sentence of doom.
What is it that suddenly calms his emotions,
Gives strength to his feet that were ready to fail?
'Tis a tent gleams ahead, as far off on the ocean,
The foundering sailor descries a white sail.
Haste onward, lone brother, the storm howleth o'er thee,
Loud roars the wild wind, fiercely beats the cold rain;—
'Tis an Odd Fellows' Camp that lies calmly before thee,
And none there for shelter and food ask in vain.
The Sentinel hails, his lone vigil that keepeth;
The Stranger is welcomed, is sheltered and fed;
Without still the storm roars, but calmly he sleepeth,
While Love, Truth and Friendship encircle his bed.
Ho! wake thee up, Brother! the fresh day is dawning,
The storm that beset thee has fled far away;—
Eat, Brother, and drink! then set onward this morning!
Thy children shall greet thee while yet it is day.
And henceforth when humbly and tearfully kneeling,
Thy heart with devotion and gratitude warm,
Forget not the night when the thunder was pealing,
And the Odd Fellows' Camp shone a star through the storm.