Book Description

Excerpt from The Butler Family Ode Written for the Butler Family Reunion, Held Wednesday, June 9, 1886, on the Dedication of the Monument of the Memory of Deacon John Butler, the First Settler of Pelham, N. H. - 1722. By Frederick Paul Hill (A Descendant). Delivered by Miss Mabel Hill. I. When God of old led Judah to the land Long promised, through the waste of sea and sand, He bade a cloud descend to lead the way - A pillar - fired at night by heaven's ray. And this because men's hearts were carnal, slow, And needed outward signs His power to know. But when, long ages past, He led again His chosen people from the bonds of men Across the stormy sea to Freedom's shore, No cloudy column marked the way before; No blazing shaft, against the dreary night, Betrayed His presence in their holy flight; But in each Pilgrim's breast a flame burned high, That led them on beneath the wintry sky, With hope ascendant, toward the evening star, Faith's lofty column, shining bright and far! O Faith triumphant! Million souls have been Redeemed by Thee from misery and sin. Thy glory made the martyr's crown a joy; Thy strength forbade the zealot's fire destroy; Thy presence stilled the heavy heart to rest, Consoled the mourner, lifted the oppressed. Yet not in all the scenes of human ken. Since God first breathed His spirit upon men, Hath thy divinely born, inspiring glow Arched in man's heart heaven's mystic promise-bow As when, on God's most wondrous purpose bent. thou ledst our fathers to this continent - A broad, fair land, a freshly virgin soil - Where purity and love should blend with toil To bid the desert blossom as the rose, And His great goodness to the race disclose. Oh, not with mighty pomp and state they came, As Roman warriors marched to conquer fame; About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.