DUTY.

When Duty doth call us, Unless we obey, No rest doth she give us By night, nor by day. We cannot escape her, She gives us no peace. Till duty is done We have no release. We try to avoid her, Pretend not to see The road she hath taken O’er mountain or lea. We cannot evade her, For by us she stands, And fetters the strongest She binds on our hands. Though we may not listen To Duty’s loud voice, Obeying her mandates May not be our choice; We ever are happy When duty is done; When self is once conquered, A victory is won. She smiles now upon us, The demon is laid. We’re glad that she conquered, That we have obeyed. We will no more stumble, Nor push her aside, Triumphant is Duty, With us will aye bide. We now have acknowledged Her right to control Each thought, and each action; Yea—even our soul. We give up the battle, Proclaim our defeat, Now Duty triumphant Doth sweetly us greet. We haul down our banner, Put Duty on throne, Though we were once traitors, We now will atone For all our past errors, And sit at her feet, With joy do her bidding, Each duty will meet. The battle is ended, And now we are free From selfish indulgence, And happy are we.