Freedom in Brazil
With clearer light, Cross of the South shine forth
In blue Brazilian skies:
And thou, O River, cleaving half the earth,
From sunset to sunrise,
From the great mountains to the Atlantic waves,
Thy joy’s long anthem pour,
Yet a few years (God make them less!) and slaves
Shall shame thy pride no more.
No fettered feet thy shaded margins press,
But all men shall walk free.
Where, thou the high-priest of the wilderness,
Hast wedded sea to sea.
And thou, great-hearted Ruler, through whose mouth
The word of God is said
Once more:—“Let there be light!”—Son of the South,
Lift up thy honoured head,
Wear unashamed a crown by thy desert
More than by birth thy own,
Careless of watch and ward; thou art begirt
By grateful hearts alone.
The moated wall and battleship may fail,
But safe shall Justice prove;
Stronger than greaves of brass or iron mail,
The panoply of Love.
John Greenleaf Whittier (Condensed)
Dom Pedro was born December 2, 1825
Was made Emperor at five years of age, April 7, 1831
Visited the United States, 1876
His daughter, Princess Isabel, emancipated the slaves, 1888
He abdicated, and Brazil was proclaimed a Republic, 1889
Dom Pedro died, December 5, 1891.