When Freedom bade adieu,
And for a while withdrew,
There was a light of heavenly hope that kept in view;
Afar it faintly shone,
As might some star alone,
That rode amid the storm when all the rest were gone.

And as I gaz'd, its light
Grew brighter and more bright,
Until it seemed to triumph o'er the shades of night;
And then 'twas like a day
Arising far away,
And bringing back the golden hours of liberty.

No dark'ning cloud was there,
But all was bright and fair:
E'en brighter seem'd chains which hung around my lair.
Ah! though the great combine
The lowly to confine,
They cannot darken out the ray of hope divine!

And though unfeeling might
Affections dear may blight,
And though beneath the arm of pow'r doth bend the right,
This cannot always be,—
The millions will be free,
Oh! they will rise to vindicate humanity,

To God my thanks ascend,
Who doth my steps attend,
For he hath ever been to me a mighty friend;
His wing hath been my shield,
His hand hath been my stay,
As through a dark and stormy world I sought my way!