"Lo the Bondage of Ages has Ceased."

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WRITTEN FOR THE 1ST OF AUGUST BY W. L. GARRISON.

1. Lo the bondage of ages has ceased,
The chains of tyrant are riven
No more as a chattel or beast,
Shall man to his labor be driven,

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Where the groans and the shrieks of despair,
From the heartbroken victims were heard,
Songs of rapturous joy fill the air,
More sweet than the notes of the bird.

2. Lo! the gloom and the blackness of night,
Have suddenly vanished away,
And all things rejoice in the light,
Of Freedom's meridian day.
Restored to their sight are the blind,
No longer they grope for the wall,
All who seek may with certainty find,
For clear is the vision of all.

3. Hark! a voice from the isles of the sea;
Its echoes are heard round the world;
O! Joyful its message: "We're free!"
To the dust oppression is hurled;

We are free as the waves of the deep,
As the winds that sweep o'er the earth,
And therefore we jubilee keep,
And hallow the day of our birth.

4. Columbia! O shame on thee now!
Repent thee in ashes and dust;
There is blood on thy hands, on thy brow,
And thou art by slavery cursed;

Thy millions of vassals set free,
Away with the scourge and the rod,
Then join with the isles of the sea,
In a shout of thanksgiving to God.