I.
A sound like the sound of a tempest rolled,
And the heart of a people stirred,
For the bell of freedom at midnight tolled,
Through a fettered land was heard;
And the chime still rung
From its iron tongue,
Steadily swaying to and fro;
And to some it came
As a breath of flame,
And to some as a sound of woe.
* Rung in Philadelphia upon the announcement of the
Declaration of Independence, July 4th. 1776.