Bold men were they, and true—that pilgrim band,
Who ploughed with venturous prow the stormy sea,
Seeking a home for hunted Liberty
Amid the ancient forests of a land
Wild, gloomy, vast, magnificently grand!
Friends—country—hallowed homes, they left, to be
Pilgrim’s for CHRIST’S sake, to a foreign strand—
Beset by peril—worn with toil—yet free!
Tireless in zeal—devotion—labor—hope—
Constant in faith—in justice how severe!
Though fools deride and bigot-skeptics sneer,
Praise to their names! If called like them to cope,
In evil times, with dark and evil powers,
Oh, be their faith, their zeal, their courage ours!