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Of the Age to come and the Land to be;
And, looking to Heaven, fervently
They labored and longed through the dawning gray
For the blessed break of that larger day!

When the wail of Harvard in sore distress
Came to their ears through the wilderness,—
Harvard, the hope of the colonies twain,
Planted with prayers by the lonely main—
It was loyal, struggling Portsmouth town
That sent this gracious message down:
"Wishing our gratitude to prove,
And the country and General Court to move
For the infant College beset with fears,
(Its loss an omen of ill would be!)
We promise to pay it, for seven years,
Sixty pounds sterling, an annual sum,
Trusting that fuller aid will come,"—
And the Court and the country heard their plea,
And the sapling grew to the wide-boughed tree.
And when a century had fled,
And the war for Freedom thrilled with dread
Yet welcome summons every home,—
By the fire-lit hearth, 'neath the starry dome,
They vowed that never their love should wane
For the holy cause they burned to gain,
Till right should rule, and the strife be done!
List to the generous deed of one:—
In the Revolution's darkest days