NATIONAL ODE.

SUGGESTED BY THE PRESIDENT'S PROCLAMATION OF JANUARY 1, 1863.

I. Shine forth upon the earth, Bright day of dedicated birth, And breathe in thundering accents thy command! A mighty nation's heart awake, Her self-enwoven fetters shake, And vivify the pulses of the land! Arising from the past With stormy clouds o'ercast, And darkened by a long-enduring night, The Future's child and Freedom's—seraph bright! Arise great day, and legions of the free, Beneath thy conquering flag, lead forth to victory. II. Great Freedom dead! Foul thought From lies of vaunting Treason caught, And Fear's pale minions, wrapped in sorrow's pall. Great Freedom dead! In God-like power, 'Tis Freedom rules e'en this dread hour, And guides the tempest 'neath whose blows we fall. Yea! War and Anarchy Discord and Slavery, And drunken Death, and all these tears Shaking our hearts with unaccustomed fears— E'en these are Freedom, waiting to arise In glad eternal triumph from her foul disguise. III. Our country's glory slain! Her kingdom rent and torn in twain! Her strong foundations crumbling into dust! With Truth's shield armed, and sword of light, Speak thou, Columbia, in thy might, Unharmed by thy false children's hate and lust. Arise—no more betrayed By fears too long obeyed, And bid, from shore to distant shore, Ten million voices, like the ocean's roar, In one full chorus gloriously proclaim The pride and splendor of thy star-immortal fame. IV. Arise! no more delay! Arise! For this triumphant day Shall crush the serpent cherished in thy breast. E'en now the slimy coils unfold, The venomed folds relax their hold, The tooth is drawn that stung thee from thy rest. Arise! For with a groan Falls Slavery from his throne! While, seizing Song's immortal lyre, And girt afar with Heaven's Promethean fire, Eternal Freedom, winged with prophecy, Awakes, in swelling chords, the Anthem of the Free. V. No more Conspiracy, With Treason linked and Anarchy, Shall dig, with secret joy, their country's grave. No more thy waning cheek shall pale, Thy trembling limbs with terror fail, Thy bleeding wounds Heaven's balsam vainly crave. Uplift thy forehead fair, And mark the monstrous snare Of subtle foes, who sucked thy fainting breath, And yielding thee to the embrace of death, Awaited the fulfilment of their reign, To shed thy lovely limbs dismembered o'er the plain. VI. No more, degenerate, And heedless of their darkening fate, Shall thine own children revel in thy woes— Enchained to Mammon's loathsome car, Led on by War's red, baleful star, No longer shall they sell thee to thy foes— No more abandoned, bare, Piercing with shrieks the air, Thy millioned slaves shall lift on high Their black, blank faces, dragging from the sky The curse, which, riding on the viewless wind, Sweeps Ruin's hurricane o'er all of human kind. VII. No longer in sad scorn Shall Freedom wander forth forlorn, Forsaking her false kingdom in the West, Quitting a world too sunk in crime To heed that glorious light sublime— No longer shall she hide her burning crest— No more her children's cries In vain appeal shall rise, While ruthless War's fierce earthquake shocks With throes convulsive thy dominion's rock, And tyrants, in their proud halls, celebrate The anguish of a nation tottering to her fate. VIII. Thy courts no more defiled, Thy people's hearts no more beguiled! What foes, what dangers shall Columbia fear? Prosperity and holy Peace Within thy borders shall increase— The Future's dawning glory draweth near! The vine-clad South shall rest Upon her brother's breast, And, smiling in the glory of his worth, Her teeming wealth and sunny gifts poured forth, While tributes of the world's full treasures blent With tides of plenty lave the love-girt continent! IX. Joy! Joy! Awake the strain, And still repeat the glad refrain Of Liberty, resounding to the sky. Around thee float thy sacred dead, Whose martyr blood for thee was shed, Whose angel choirs, celestial, hover nigh! Joy! Joy! No longer weep: Rich harvests shalt thou reap, Whose seeds, in tears and anguish sown, With bounteous rapture thy rich feasts shall crown, When, rising to fulfil thy destiny, Thou leadest the nations on to Peace and Liberty. X. Hail then to thee, great day, Bright herald of the coming sway Of Truth immortal and immortal Love— Uplift in fuller strains thy voice, Call all the nations to rejoice, And grasp thy olive—Time's long-promised dove! No longer tempest-tost, Redeem dark ages lost; And may the work by thee begun Ne'er pause nor falter 'till yon rising sun Beholds the flag of Promise, now unfurled 'Neath Freedom's conquering smile, extending o'er the world.