From village homes and rustling trees,
From city walls and marts of trade,
From fields that whisper to the breeze,
We meet beneath this woodland shade.

From distant States, from many a land,
From realms reflecting India's sun,
Before one common shrine we stand,
Where truth and faith and hope are one.

With joyful heart and open hand
We welcome you from o'er the sea;
Each breaking wave on Lakeside's strand
Unites to-day in greeting thee.

We know that words are idle all
To speak what every heart would say,
For over all this rustic hall
The “lilies” bloom for you to-day.

Our lifted hands with loving cheer
From heart to heart the message pass;
Our eyes, between a smile and tear,
Become the soul's reflecting glass;

And hark! above the beating wave,
Above our broken, fleeting rhyme,
The bells peal out an anthem brave,
And sweetly chant your fiftieth chime.

They wish you joy and hope and peace,
Their trembling lips our hearts express,
In music sweet that shall not cease,
But blend with Heaven's own happiness.