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They shall heed thee as mistress with trembling and awe,
And each wish of thy heart shall be felt as a law. “
Oh, could ye have seen her—that pride of our girls—
Arise and cast back the dark wealth of hercurls,
With a scorn in her eye which the gazer could feel,
And a glance like the sunshine that flashes on steel!
“Go back, haughty Southron! thy treasures of gold
Are dim with the blood of the hearts thou hast sold;
Thy home may be lovely, but round it I hear
The crack of the whip and the footsteps of fear!
“And the sky of thy South may be brighter than ours,
And greener thy landscapes, and fairer thy flowers;
But dearer the blast round our mountains which raves,
Than the sweet summer zephyr which breathes over slaves!
“Full low at thy bidding thy negroes may kneel,
With the iron of bondage on spirit and heel;
Yet know that the Yankee girl sooner would be
In fetters with them, than in freedom with thee!”
1835.
Boston and New York, Houghton, Mifflin and company, 1888-89.
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