McKinley Assassination Ink: A Documentary History of William McKinley's Assassination

Publication information

Source: Verses on Various Occasions
Source type: book
Document type: poem
Document title: “The Pillar of the Cloud”
Author(s): Newman, John Henry
Publisher: Longmans, Green, and Co.
Place of publication: London, England
Year of publication: 1910
Pagination: 156-57

Citation

Newman, John Henry. “The Pillar of the Cloud.” Verses on Various Occasions. London: Longmans, Green, 1910: pp. 156-57.

Transcription

full text

Keywords

hymns (“Lead, Kindly Light”).

Named persons

none.

Notes

The following poem is the basis for “Lead, Kindly Light,” a favorite hymn of President McKinley featured prominently in many of the services/ceremonies following his death.

From title page: By John Henry Cardinal Newman.

Document

The Pillar of the Cloud

LEAD, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom
          Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home—
          Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene—one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, not pray’d that Thou
          Shouldst lead me on.
I loved to choose and see my path, but now
          Lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will: remember not past years. [156][157]

So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still
          Will lead me on,
O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till
          The night is gone;
And with the morn those angel faces smile
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.

At Sea.
June 16, 1833.

© 2006-24 McKinley Assassination Ink
	mckinleydeath.com	home \| contact MAI