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Show Independence Bell A Poem That Has Been Read for Years That Is Worth Heading- Again Who Wrote It 7 h When It became certain that the Declaration . ef Independence would be adopted and con , firmed by the algnaturea of the delegate! In lh Continental Congrei It waa determined to announce an-nounce the event by ringing the old State Houeo ' til, which bore the Inscription. "Proclttm llttrtr h the UiJl to All Inhabitants Ihtrtofl" and the oil bellman posted his grandion at the door of the hall to await the Instruction of the doorkerpr when to ring. At the word that the docu. ment had been algned the little patriot ac4oq rushed out and flinging up hit hands shouted. "Rtngl Ring I RINQI" e There was a tumult in the city,. In the quaint old Quaker town, And the streets were rife with people Pacing restless up and down; People gathering at corners, Where they whispered each to each,. And the sweat stood on their tcmpleii, . With the earnestness of speech. As the blealc Atlantic currents Lash the wild Newfoundland shore, So they beat against the State House, So they surged against the door;. And the mingling of their voices Made a harmony profound, Till the quiet street of chestnuts Was all turbulent with sound. "Will they doit?" "Dare they do lt?"v "Who Is speaking? "What's the news? "What of Adams?" "What of Sherman?"- "Oh I God grant they won't refuse I" "Make some way there l"-"Let me nearer r "I am stifling I" "Stifle, then, When a Nation's life's at hazard We've no time to think of mcnl" So they beat against the portal, Men and womeu, maid and child; And the July sun in heaven On the scene looked down and smile The same sun that saw the Spartan Shed his patriot blood in vain Now beheld the soul in freedom All unconquered, rise again. So they surged against the State Hous. j While, all solemnly inside. Sat the "Continental Congress," Truth and reason for their guHe, O'er a simple scroll debating Which, though simple it might be-Yet be-Yet should shake the cliffs of England With the thunders of the free. At the portal of the State House, Like some beacon in a storm, Round which waves are wildly beating, Stood a boyish, slender form; With his eyes fixed on the steeple And his ears agape with greed To catch the first announcement Of the "signing" of the deed. Aloft, in that high steeple. Sat the bellman, old and gray-He gray-He was weary of the tyrant And his iron-scepteted sway, , So he sat, with one hand ready - On the clapper of the bell, When his eye should catch the signal, The happy news to tell. Seel seel The dense crowd quivers Through all its lengthy line, As the boy beside the portal Looks forth to give the sign I With his small hands upward lifted, Breezes dallying with his hair, Hark I with deep, clear intonation, Breaks his young voice on the air. Hushed the people's swelling murmur, Bb List the boy's strong, joyous cry I pr "Ring," he shouted, "Rinql Gr&ndpA! , Ring! Ohl Ringl for Liberty!" And straightway, at the signal, The old bellman lifts his hand, W' And sends the good news making Iron music through the land. How they shouted! what rejoicing I How the old bell shook the air, Till the clang of freedom ruffled The calm gliding Delaware I How the bonfires and the torches Illumined the night's repose, And from the flames, like Phoenix, Fair Liberty arose. The old bell now is silent, And hushed its iron tongue, Bjt the spirit it nwakencd Still lives forever young, And while we greet the sunlight On the Fourth of each July, We'll ne'er forget the bellman, Who, 'twixt the earth and sky, Bung out our Independence i Which, please God, shall never die. |
