Thy white is a proud people's honor,
Kept spotless and clear as light;
A pledge of unfaltering justice,
A symbol of truth and right.
Thy blue is our nation's endurance,
And points to the blue above;
The limitless, measureless azure,
A type of our Father's love.
The stars are God's witness of blessing,
And smile at the foeman's frown;
They sparkle and gleam in their splendor,
Bright gems in the great world's crown.
ISTURB not his slumbers, let Washington sleep
'Neath the boughs of the willows that over
him weep,
His arm is unnerved, but his deeds remain bright
As the stars in the dark-vaulted heavens at night.
Oh, wake not the hero, his battles are o'er,
Let him rest undisturbed on Potomac's fair shore;
On the river's green borders, so flowery drest,
With the heart he loved fondly let Washington rest.
Awake not his slumbers, tread lightly around,
'Tis the grave of the freeman, 'tis liberty's mound.
Thy name is immortal, our freedom ye won,
Brave sire of Columbia, our Washington.
Oh, wake not the hero, his battles are o'er,
Let him rest, calmly rest, on his dear native shore,
While the stars and stripes of our country shall wave
O'er the land that can boast of our Washington's grave.
ING, bells in steeple tower, ring free and clear,
Send out your chimes, aye, send them far and near!
So shall they speak of battles fought and won,
And wondrous deeds of valor, grandly done
By him all nations in their hearts hold dear,
Whom all hearts truly honor and revere,
In whom all the virtues blend-George Washington.
Speak, burnished cannon, make the welkin ring,
Your clarion voice adown the ages fling!
Let it reverberate through every land,
On mountain peak, and on the desert sand,
And ocean wave; and let the echoes spring
To the blue ether, as on eagle's wing.
So speak our pride in him-the good and grand.
Sing, happy people, sing the love and pride
That in each heart forever shall abide!
Let swelling voices ring from zone to zone,
Let trust, and pride, and love enrich your tone.
So shall we chant our praises far and wide,
Of him who lived a hero, and a hero died—
A hero loved of all-George Washington.
WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY
HE bells of Mount Vernon are ringing to-day,
And what say their melodious numbers
To the flag-blooming air? List! what do they say?—
"The fame of the hero ne'er slumbers!"
The world's monument stands the Potomac beside,
And what says the shaft to the river?-
"When the hero has lived for his country, and died,
Death crowns him a hero forever."
The bards crown the heroes, and children rehearse The songs that give heroes to story;
And what say the bards to the children?"No verse Can yet measure Washington's glory!
"For freedom outlives the old crowns of the earth, And Freedom shall triumph forever,
And time must long wait the true song of his birth, Who sleeps by the beautiful river."
DREAMING school boy of to-day
Wished time might turn the other way,
And bring the quaint, old-fashioned rule
When wise Ben Franklin went to school,
And find the clever schoolboys, too,
That Franklin, Jay, and Adams knew.
He wished his school days had begun
With Marshall and with Jefferson;
For they were boys, Time heard him say,
Worth making friends of, any day.
Old Father Time looked kindly down,
And smiled away the dreamer's frown.
"How do you know," said he, "that they
Were wiser than the boys of to-day?
How do you know, my lad, but you
Already know a boy or two
Of sturdy brain and steady eye,
Who shall be Franklins by and by?
Or others, quick to take the lead,
Who may be Adamses, indeed?
How many boys you know and see
Shall Otises and Marshalls be?
Who knows? Your comrade, later on,
May be another Washington.
So fear you not, at school or play,
To greet the boys that live to-day,
As the proud lads you wished to know
Who lived a hundred years ago."
-Youth's Companion
FROM the COMMEMORATION ODE
World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, October 21, 1892
HEN dreaming kings, at odds with swift-paced time,
Would strike that banner down,
A nobler knight than ever writ or rhyme.
With fame's bright wreath did crown,
Through armed hosts bore it till it floated high
Beyond the clouds, a light that cannot die!
Ah, hero of our younger race!
Great builder of a temple new!
Ruler, who sought no lordly place!
Warrior, who sheathed the sword he drew!
Lover of men, who saw afar
A world unmarred by want or war
Who knew the path, and yet forbore
To tread, till all men should implore;
Who saw the light, and led the way
Where the gray world might greet the day;
Father and leader, prophet sure,
Whose will in vast works shall endure,
How shall we praise him on this day of days
Great son of fame who has no need of praise?
How shall we praise him? Open wide the doors
Of the fair temple whose broad base he laid.
Through its white walls a shadowy cavalcade
Of heroes moves o'er unresounding floors-
Men whose brawned arms upraised these columns high,
And reared the towers that vanish in the sky-
The strong who, having wrought, can never die.
AND of the West! though passing brief the record of thine age,
Thou hast a name that darkens all on history's wide
Let all the blasts of fame ring out-thine shall be loudest far:
Let others boast their satellites-thou hast the planet-star. Thou hast a name whose characters of light shall ne'er
'Tis stamped upon the dullest brain, and warms the coldest heart.
A war-cry fit for any land where freedom's to be won; Land of the West! it stands alone-it is thy Washington.
Rome had its Cæsar, great and brave, but stain was on his wreath;
He lived the heartless conqueror, and died the tyrant's death. France had its Eagle, but his wings, though lofty they might soar,
Were spread in false ambition's flight, and dipped in murder's gore.
Those hero-gods whose mighty sway would fain have chained the waves;
Who flashed their blades with tiger zeal, to make a world of slaves;
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