Our Three Martyrs [excerpt]

MC KINLEY [sic]

The deed is done! The noble man—
Think of it calmly, ye who can,
With hand outstretched for friendly grasp
Fell ’neath the hand he sought to clasp.

From east to west a thrill of pain
Shot through the nation’s heart again:
Another martyr! Can it be
In this fair land of liberty!

What sayest thou? O leader brave,
With dim eyes gazing at thy grave—
Speak e’re [sic] thy journey full is run—
“It is God’s way. His will be done”.

And can’st thou say it from the heart—
“His will be done”? If so, then
Hero, martyr, in this dark hour
Thine is a throne of endless power.

Thy life prolonged, could not have been
So fraught with good to struggling men.
Thy country hears, and stands in awe,
While nations wonder from afar.

Thrice the assassin’s cruel hand
Hath draped in black our heaven-blest land.
But freedom’s cause can ne’er be slain,
And Truth, tho’ crushed, shall rise again.

“God’s will be done”! So let us pray,
Tho’ God’s way may not seem our way:—
The end shall prove His way was right
That led thro’ darkness, into light.