[26] Emma Taylor, which was followed by the reading of these original verses, by Mrs. Nancy Thorning Munroe, entitled ‘The Clock and the Bell’:—
Silent for years stood the steeple tower,
It never summoned to prayer,
Nor told the years of the sainted dead,
Nor greeted the bridal pair.
The hours went by, but it gave no sign,
Of their flight no record kept;
It never startled the watcher's ear,
Nor awakened those who slept.
The people gathered for prayer and praise,
Though no bell swung in the tower;
And greetings gave on the Sabbath morn,
Though no clock struck forth the hour.
A voice said, ‘Place in your house of prayer,
That the people all may hear,
A clock to measure the passing hours,
And a bell both loud and clear.’
So they builded a scaffold stout and strong,
And up in the steeple tower
They placed a bell of sonorous sound,
And a clock to strike the hour.
And for this we hold a joyous feast;
Let her name be treasured well,
Whose bounty gave to our silent tower
The voices of clock and bell.
Be mute no longer, from steeple tower
Afar let the sound be borne,
And ring the thronging worshippers in
On each blessed Sunday morn.
For the bridal train, a joyous peal
Ring merrily out, O bell!
For our loved ones borne to their sainted rest,
Sound low the funeral knell.
