A HYMN BY CHARLES DICKENS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 137, 22 September 1870, Page 7

A HYMN BY CHARLES DICKENS.

In the " Daily News " of February 14, 1846, Mr. Dickens wrote the following verses — which •will be new to many— elicited by a speech at one of the night meetings of the wives of agricultural labourers iv Wiltshire, held to petition for free trade:— THE HYMN OF THE WILTSHIRE LABOURERS. " Don't you all think we have a great need to cry to our God to put it into the hearts of our gracious Queen and her members of Parliament to grant us free bread 1" —Lucy Simpkins, at Bremhill, Oh God, who by thy Prophet's hand Didst smite the rocky brake, Whence water came at Thy command, Thy people's thirst to slake : Strike, now, upon this granite wall, i Stern, obdurate, and high ; And let some drops of pity fall For us who starve and die 1 The God, who took a little child And set him in the midst, And promised him His mercy mild, As, by Thy Son, Thou didst ; Look down upon our children dear, So gaunt, so cold, so spare, And let their images appear Where Lords and Gentry are ! Oh God, teach them to feel how we, When our poor infants droop, Are weakened in our trust in Thee, And how our spirits stoop ; For, in Thy rest, so bright and fair, All tears and sorrow sleep ; And their young looks, so full of cai c, Would make Thine angels weep ! The God, who with his finger drew The Judgment coming on, Write for these men what must ensue, Ere many years be gone ! Oh God, whose bow is in the sky. Let them not brave and dare, Until they look (too late) on high, And see an Arrow there ! Oh God, remind them ! In the bread They break upon the knee, These sacred words may yet be read, " In memory of Me !" Oh God, remind them of His sweet Compassion for the poor, And how He gave them Bread to eat, And went from aoor to door. —"Glasgow Herald." -