(October 2008) A poem written expressly for the Husthwaite Wesleyan Chapel Bazaar 1870 Price sixpence Printed and Published by Thomas Gill Chapel Street, Easingwold.
O’er Husthwaite’s vale thick moral darkness hung,
Long ere the triumphs of the Cross were sung;
Wild were the wastes which o’er these valleys spread,
The latent bog the stagnant marshes bred,
Where oft the hunter in the wild boar chase,
Slept Lethe’s sleep beneath the green morass.
Thick o’er these rising wolds the shaggy thorn,
Spread its entangled meshes wild and lorn;
No smiling sun could send the cheering ray,
The forest oaks shut out the light of day:
When genial spring sent forth its rays and smiled,
Its beams were wasted on a barren wild,
And Autumn’s mellowing gleam no vintage crown’d,
No clustering fruits on this drear spot were found.
These vales so rich in Britain’s silver fleece,
And now so vocal with the songs of peace;
These rising wolds thick spread with golden grain,
The grassy verdant hill, - the fruitful plain
Were barren then, - a gloomy wilderness,
For future ages to adorn and bless.
The poem continues through the centuries of history, encompassing he defeat of Caractacus, the Norman invasion, Charles 1’s doom, Cromwell’s reign and the growth of science and academia.
The last verse brings us back to the rise of Methodism and the whole point of the poem!
But when again the clouds of darkness rose,
And the Church slumber’d into mute repose,
WESLEY stepped forth to stem the downward flight,
And on the world he poured a flood of light.
In every village temples now arise,
And holy incense floats up to the skies;
Religion gives with Danae’s golden fleece,
The Cap of Freedom and the Palm of Peace,
Throws wide the portals of yon modest fame,
Exalts the Saviour and proclaims His Name;
Sets forth His Truth, to man so freely given,
And gives his faith an anchorage in Heaven;
To wandering souls a kindly welcome give,
To share His mercy, - taste His grace and live.
The INVITE is to all both near and far,
Come Aid our Cause and help on the BAZAAR.