Hushed be earth’s clamor, be silent and hear;
Thrilling the heart with sad cadences falling,
Comes the appeals in their syllables clear,
Knowing no song but the breath of a sigh,
Send o’er the ocean their heart-breaking cry.
Lips that are muffled yet utter their story,
O the sad plea of their multiplied wrongs;
Grim superstition grown ancient and hoary,
Shuts in dim prisons these languishing throngs,
Heathen womanhood, with piteous pleading,