III.
Nay!
Let Massachusetts wait!
In the capitol of the great
Let the statesman lie in state.
Let the house be draped in woe;
Let the sentinel below
Pace solemnly to and fro.
All night let the tireless street
Echo the sad, slow feet
Of those who come and go.
All day let the voiceless street
In silence then repeat
The name we honor so.
Let the Senate chamber ring
Once more with his eloquence,
The eloquence of his death!
Let choicest flowers bring,
Delicate and intense,
Tribute of fragrant breath.
For ever the gentlest thing
With strongest love will cling
To one so grandly great.
Let Massachusetts wait!
Honored by every land,
Around him there shall stand
The noblest of each state!
And a nation’s tears be shed
For our Massachusetts’ dead!