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THE GOOD TIME COMING.

203

shall be

War in all men's eyes

A monster of iniquity,

In the good time coming.
Nations shall not quarrel then,
To prove which is the stronger;
Nor slaughter men for glory's sake;-
Wait a little longer.

There's a good time coming, boys,
A good time coming:

Hateful rivalries of creed

Shall not make their martyrs bleed)
In the good time coming.
Religion shall be shorn of pride,

And flourish all the stronger;
And Charity shall trim her lamp;
Wait a little longer.

There's a good time coming, boys,

A good time coming: And a poor man's family Shall not be his misery

In the good time coming. Every child shall be a help,

To make his right arm stronger; The happier he, the more he has ;Wait a little longer.

There's a good time coming, boys,

A good time coming:

Little children shall not toil,

Under, or above, the soil,

In the good time coming; But shall play in healthful fields Till limbs and mind grow stronger; And every one shall read and write ;Wait a little longer.

There's a good time coming, boys,
A good time coming:

The people shall be temperate,
And shall love instead of hate,
In the good time coming.
They shall use, and not abuse,

And make all virtue stronger.

The reformation has begun;-
Wait a little longer.

There's a good time coming, boys,

A good time coming: Let us aid it all we can,

Every woman, every man,

The good time coming. Smallest helps, if rightly given,

Make the impulse stronger;

'Twill be strong enough one day;

Wait a little longer.

THE WANTS OF THE PEOPLE.

1846.

WHAT do we want?

Our daily bread;

Leave to earn it by our skill :

Leave to labor freely for it,

Leave to buy it where we will :
For 'tis hard upon the many,
Hard-unpitied by the few,

To starve and die for want of work,
Or live, half-starved, with work to do.

What do we want? Our daily bread;
Fair reward for labor done;
Daily bread for wives and children;
All our wants are merged in one.
When the fierce fiend, Hunger, grips us,
Evil fancies clog our brains,
Vengeance settles on our hearts,

And Frenzy gallops through our veins.

What do we want? Our daily bread:
Give us that; all else will come;
Self-respect, and self-denial,

And the happiness of home;

Kindly feelings, Education,

Liberty for act and thought; And surety that, whate'er befall,

Our children shall be fed and taught.

What do we want? Our daily bread;
Give us that for willing toil :
Make us sharers in the plenty

God has shower'd upon the soil;
And we'll nurse our better natures

With bold hearts and judgment strong, To do as much as men can do

To keep the world from going wrong.

What do we want?

Our daily bread,

And trade untrammel'd as the wind;
And from our ranks shall spirits start,
To aid the progress of mankind.
Sages, poets, mechanicians;
Mighty thinkers shall arise,

To take their share of loftier work,
And teach, exalt, and civilize.

What do we want?

Our daily bread:

Grant it: make our efforts free;
Let us work, and let us prosper;
You shall prosper more than we;
And the humblest homes of England
Shall, in proper time, give birth
To better men than we have been,
To live upon a better earth.

THE THREE PREACHERS.

THERE are three preachers, ever preaching,

Fill'd with eloquence and power.

One is old, with locks of white,

Skinny as an anchorite ;

And he preaches every hour

With a shrill fanatic voice,

And a Bigot's fiery scorn:
'BACKWARD! ye presumptuous nations;
Man to misery is born!

Born to drudge, and sweat, and suffer-
Born to labor and to pray;
BACKWARD! ye presumptuous nations,
Back!-be humble and obey!'

The second is a milder preacher;
Soft he talks, as if he sung;
Sleek and slothful is his look,
And his words, as from a book,

Issue glibly from his tongue.
With an air of self-content,

High he lifts his fair white hands:

'STAND YE STILL! ye restless nations; And be happy, all ye lands!

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