A Pinnacle Of Pride, That God Himself Is Little By Their Side. Xviii. In Truth, Their Learning Has Become So Great That Their Imagination Can Conceive No Being Mightier Than They, And, Straight, In God'S Existence They Will Not Believe. And Men Untutored Listen To Their Word, And Deem Those Foolish Who Believe The Lord. Xix. But Cartier Was Living In An Age When Science In Her Cradle Was Asleep, And Men Accounted Not Themselves Too Sage To Bow To God In Prayer, Nor To Reap The Benefits Which Only Can Accrue To Those Whose Faith In God Is Pure And True. Xx. So He Besought A Blessing From His Lord Before He Re-Embarked; Then, Setting Sail, The Newly-Christened River He Explored, Till, Favored By A Gently-Blowing Gale, He Reached The Hochelaga Settlement Of Indians, And Thence No Further Went. Xxi. A Hundred Years Elapsed, And Then There Came A Little Band From France To Yonder Isle; To Found A Mission And A Fort Their Aim; And There They Laboured For Their Faith, The While Protecting Them As Best They Might From Those Who Proved Themselves Their Fierce And Bitter Foes. Xxii. The Iroquois, By Cruel Hate Possessed, Left Not A Chance Untaken To Obtain A Reeking Scalp; And Fiercely They Oppressed The Little Band, Whose Suffering And Pain, In Montreal And All Throughout The Land, Seemed More Than Human Frailty Could Withstand. Xxiii. But Maisonneuve And They Who Followed Him Were Bent Upon A High And Holy Aim; Their Undertaking Was No Foolish Whim, Nor Had They Come For Honour Or For Fame. A Jesuitic Band, They Sought To Win Those Indians From A Life Of Death And Sin. Xxiv. They Sought To Win Them To The Faith Which They Themselves Possessed, And Thought It Not A Hard, Nor Yet An Unexpected, Thing To Lay Their Own Lives Down To Win Them. Their Reward They Counted Not To Win On Earth, But Knew That Each In Heaven Would Gain The Glory Due. Xxv. What Though The Jesuitic Creed Be Not As True And Generous A Faith As That Which We Profess; What Though A Bloody Blot Has Stained Its Page Of History; The Great And Worthy Deeds Those Fathers Wrought Should Raise A Feeling In Our Hearts Of Loving Praise. Xxvi. They Suffered For Their God And For Their Pope; They Suffered For Their Faith, To Them As True And Pure As Ours To Us, And In The Hope That God Would Bless Their Labours, And Endue The Savage Indians With A Softer Heart, And Give Them With The Blessed Ones A Part. Xxvii. They Merit Praise And Honour, But The Cause For Which They Laboured Merits None Of These; A Cruel Creed, With Harsh And Bloody Laws, The Very Name Of Christ It Travesties. An Evil Order, Working In The Name Of Christianity Dark Deeds Of Shame. Xxviii. He Whom They Call Their Master Suffered Not His Followers To Mingle In The Strife Of Politics--Not Such Their Chosen Lot; Theirs To Prepare Men For A Higher Life. And Yet He Bade Them To Their King Be True, And Offer Unto C?Sar All His Due. Xxix. But This Do Not The Jesuits; They Fain Would Undermine The Power Of The Land In Which They Dwell, And Every Effort Strain To Take The Civil Sceptre In Their Hand. They Creep, As Serpents, Smoothly On Their Prey, But Subtly Spread Their Poison In The Way. Xxx. And These, Canadians, Have Found A Home Within Your Shores. Ye Know Not What Ye Do In Harb'Ring Them. Be Sure The Day Will Come When Ye Will Bitterly And Sadly Rue Your Action. Other Lands Will Not Permit The Entrance Of The Hated Jesuit. Xxxi. But Why Should I Presume To Thus Dictate To Ye? And What Know I Of All The Things Which Influence Your Ministers Of State, That I Should Utter Forth These Murmurings? By Greed And Selfish Motives Unpossessed, They, In Their Wisdom, Must Do What Is Best! Xxxii. I Stand Upon The Hill At Ottawa, And Stretching Wide Before Me Lies A Scene Of Pretty Lowland Country. Near And Far, The River Ottawa Winds On Between The Wooded Slopes And Meadow-Lands, Where Lie The Lazy Cattle Chewing Silently. Xxxiii. The Scene Is Unimposing; There Is Nought Of Grandeur Or Magnificence Displayed; But By Its Quiet Prettiness Is Brought A Sense Of Calm Enjoyment--Hill And Glade And Peaceful Meadow, All Alike Suggest Sweet Thoughts Of Still Serenity And Rest. Xxxiv. The Face Of Nature, For The Student'S Mind, Provides A Subject Inexhaustible. And, In Its Study, Weary Men May Find A Solace For The Troubles Caused By All The Sorrows And Afflictions Which Must Be The Lot Of All, Of High Or Low Degree. Xxxv. The Mountain, By Its Grandeur, Testifies To His Omnipotence Who Placed It There; The Rushing, Mighty Torrent Verifies His Ceaseless Working; And His Constant Care And Kindliness Is Proven By The Still And Growing Meadow, And The Purling Rill. Xxxvi. Thus, Whatsoever His Environment, The Sorrow-Stricken One Can Find A Balm, Which Should Assuage His Moody Discontent, Replacing It By Trustfulness And Calm. For God Reveals Himself In Every Place, And Writes His Presence On Creation'S Face. Xxxvii. And Here I Feel A Quiet Peace Unfelt In All My Solitary Wanderings Before. My Heavy Troubles Seem To Melt Away, And Faith A Calm Contentment Brings, And All My Misery Aside Is Thrown; He Cares For Me Who Cares For All His Own. Xxxviii. A Pile Majestic And Magnificent, Of Lofty Buildings, Stands Upon This Hill; Unequalled Elsewhere On The Continent, It Well Bespeaks The Architective Skill Displayed In This Our Nineteenth Century; And Clothes The City With Its Dignity. Xxxix. Within These Walls Are Gathered In Debate The Statesmen And The Legislators, Who Are Learned In The Matters Of The State. Alike To God And To Their Country True These Men Should Be, And High Above The Rest Exalted, Seeking Not Self-Interest. Xl. These Hold The Country'S Welfare In Their Hand. A Mighty Trust To Them Has Been Consigned. They Know Their Duty, And Should Understand What Acts Will Echo Best The People'S Mind; And They Should Act, In Matters Small Or Great, As Wisdom And Their Consciences Dictate. Xli. Thus Should They Act, But Thus Do Not They All, But Mildly Bow To Their Dictator'S Bid; They Fear To Disobey Him, Lest They Fall Quick Victims To His Anger, Or Be Chid Severely By The Leader, In Whose Power It Lies To Give His Slaves Official Dower. Xlii. Thus Is A Heavy Premium Placed Upon A Blind Obedience And Servility; And High Position Hardly Can Be Won Except By Meekness And Docility: By Meekness Where Assertion Would Be Right; By Weak Docility Where Should Be Might. Xliii. And They, The Ministers Of State, Who Hold The Gift Of The Office And The Nation'S Trust, From Long Retained Authority Grow Bold, And, Almost Flagrantly, They Dare Adjust The National Affairs In Such A Way As Best Will Serve Them, And Protract Their Sway. Xliv. But Not Too Far Do They Attempt To Go In Serving Self. There Stands An Arbiter To Whom They Must Appeal; Were This Not So, Their Conscientiousness Might Not Deter The Country'S Servants From Committing Deeds To Hinder Which Their Shame Now Intercedes. Xlv. And Yet, Methinks, The Arbiter To Whom They Must Appeal Is Far Too Liberal, Or Far Too Careless. When The Day Has Come In Which A Judgment Must Be Given On All The Actions Of Their Ministers Of State, The People Are Too Mild And Moderate. Xlvi. Or They Forget The Misdeeds Of The Past-- Misdeeds Which Well Deserve A Harder Name, And Which At First Provoked A Stormy Blast Of Anger, And Aroused A Sense Of Shame Within The People'S Hearts--These Are Forgot, Though On The Nation'S Life They Leave A Blot. Xlvii. They Are Forgot; For Party Feelings Run More High Than Love Of Country, And The Man, Who Can Defeat The Chosen Champion Of An Opposing Party, Will Obtain A Full Forgiveness For His Deeds Of Shame, And Crown Himself With All A Hero'S Fame. Xlviii. Not Liberal And Not Conservative Alone Compels My Wrath; To Either Party My Feeble But Impartial Pen Would Give A Condemnation Passionate And Hearty; Each Sees The Wreck The Catholic Has Made In Canada, And Each Implores His Aid. Xlix. Each Begs Support For Only Selfish Ends; Unfired With Love For Britain'S Queen They Cry, And Seek To Make The Catholics Their Friends For Party Purposes; Their Loyalty Bombastically Swearing, Each Bows Down To Those Inimical To Britain'S Crown. L. 'Tis Hate Of Bigotry, They Glibly Shout, Impels Their Tolerance: Oh! Take That Word And Bid The Feet Of License Crush It Out; For License Now Is Undisputed Lord. Let Not The Bigot Live,--But Nurse The Snake That Brings The Inquisition In Its Wake! Li. See Where, In Old Quebec, Its Premier Uplifts The Tricolor, And Waves It High. While Shouts Un-English Rend The Poisoned Air To Greet The New-Born Nationality; And Hear Ontario'S Minister Confess His Joy For This, A Liberal Success! Lii. And Is It Bigotry To Interfere When Treason Stalks Triumphant Through The Land? Will None But Bigots Hear The Traitors Cheer, Nor Long To Raise Aloft The Armed Hand? Your Ancestors Would Not Account It So; And English Hearts Would Burn To Strike The Blow. Liii. Tear Down That Flag! In God'S Name And The Queen'S. Will Not The Red Cross Banner Rouse Your Zeal? Tear Down That Flag! And Let Who Intervenes Bite Hard The Dust Beneath Your Iron Heel. Tear Down That Flag!--Oh, Canada! Bow, Bow Your Shameful Head In Deep Contrition Now. Liv. What Wonder, Since Your Party Deeds Alone Absorb Your Thought And Wake Your Energy, That Insurrection'S Seeds Are Widely Sown, And Voice Is Given To Dark Disloyalty? Ye Clothe Your Land In Insurrection'S Dress, And Nurse Disloyalty, By Callousness. Lv. And I, Though Sojourning A Stranger Here, Will Dare To Raise My Voice In Condemnation, When Words Unwelcome To An English Ear Are Heard Re-Echoing Without Cessation; The While Accursed Party Interests Drive Patriotic Thoughts From Out Your Breasts. Lvi. I Marvel Not That Politicians Stand In Ill Repute With Honourable Men, While, Through The Length And Breadth Of This Fair Land, They Mark Themselves With Party'S Evil Stain, And Enter In The Field Of Politics For Selfish Ends Attained By Shameless Tricks. Lvii. Yet Are Not Politicians In One Mould All Fashioned; There Are Honest Men And True Who Serve Their Country, Not For Love Of Gold Or Fame, But For The Good That They Can Do. Would God That These, And These Alone, Held Sway Within Your Senates, Canada, To-Day! Lviii. But Politics Shall Occupy My Thought No More. I Turn With Deep Relief Away From That Which Lack Of Principle Has Brought To Premature And Undeserved Decay. Perchance, From Out The Ashes Where It Lies, True Statesmanship May, Phoenix-Like, Arise. Lix. The Sun Is Setting, And Its Shining Rays Reflect Them Redly On The River'S Breast, Which Now An Iridescent Gleam Displays, Which, Like A Mighty Opal, Is Possessed With Ever-Changing Hues Of Brilliancy; As Sets The Sun Their Light I Still Can See. Lx. The Twilight Hour Approaches--Silent Hour For Calm Reflection Or Communion, When, In A Quiet, Unfrequented Bower, Fond Lovers Whisper As They Sit Alone. And I Would Send A Greeting To The One Whose Heart With Mine Still Beats In Unison. * * * * * My Love, My Own Sweetheart, Let Sorrow Not Be Thine, Though Still We Live Apart, The Lamp Of Hope Must Shine. And, Shedding On Our Path The Light Of Trustfulness And Never-Failing Faith, 'Twill Make Our Sorrow Less. Let Hope Then Ever Be At Home Within Thy Breast, And Know God Loveth Thee, And Knoweth What Is Best. He Careth For The Trees, For Every Beast And Bird; And Thinkest Thou Thy Pleas In Heaven Are Unheard? Nay, God Has Heard Each Prayer, And He Will Answer Thee. Trust To His Loving Care, And Live Thou Patiently. And When The Looked-For Day Of Happiness And Rest Has Come, We Both Shall Say "God Truly Knew The Best." And Fondly To My Heart I'Ll Press Thee, Dearest Life; And None Us Two Shall Part, For Thou Wilt Be My Wife. Canto The Fourth. I. Toronto, On Its Island-Girded Bay, Full Well Protected From The Storms Which Blow Across The Lake, Stands Proudly, As Well May The Capital Of All Ontario. So Situate, Its Properties Beguile, Inviting Me To Pause And Rest Awhile. Ii. When Young America (Then Recently An Independent Nation, Full Of Pride Engendered By Her New-Born Dignity), Would Sever Canada From England'S Side, She Sent An Armed Fleet Across The Lake, This Town To Capture And Its Fort To Take. Iii. Six Hundred Soldiers Only Guarded Then The Little Fort; But In Their Veins There Flowed The Blood Of Proud And Valiant Englishmen. And In Their Hearts A Bitter Hatred Glowed Against The Nation, Whose Unjust Attack But Urged Them On To Drive The Invader Back. Iv. And, Though The Force Opposing Them Was Nigh Three Times The Number Of Their Own, Yet Still They Fought Against Their Landing Valiantly, Contending With A Fierce And Dogged Will. But Numbers Overpowered The Gallant Band, And Soon The Foe Was Safe Upon The Land. V. Then Inch By Inch Contested They The Ground, Determined Not To Yield To Quick Defeat; But, Bravely Though They Fought, Ere Long They Found Themselves Compelled To Beat A Slow Retreat. But, Falling Back Before The Enemy, They Lost Not Yet The Hope Of Victory. Vi. Meanwhile The Enemy Advanced Within Two Hundred Yards Of Where The Garrison Was Quartered. Sudden Ceased The Battle'S Din, And He Who Led The Invading Army On Gave Orders For A Halt, In Expectation Of Winning Now The Fort'S Capitulation. Vii. Then, As They Halted, Sudden A Report, As Of An Earthquake, Rent The Trembling Air, And, Midst The D?Bris Of The Scattered Fort, Two Hundred Slain Americans Lay There. The British Had Retreated, But Had Fired The Powder-Magazine As They Retired. Viii. Th' Enraged Americans Accounted This An Act Of Baseness And Of Perfidy. I Know Not What The Law Of Slaughter Is, But This I Know, That They Can Hardly Be Renowned For Faith And Truth To Honour'S Code, Whose Lives Are Spent In Butchery And Blood. Ix. The Man'S Environment Perfects The Man, And Each Can Choose His Own Environment. And Each Can Either Cause To Die, Or Fan To Brighter Life, The Seed Or Rudiment Of Good Or Evil Moral Tendency Acquired, Or Inbred By Heredity. X. And He Who Chooses Warfare As The Life Most Suited To His Predilections, He Who Finds His Happiness In Constant Strife, Will Hardly Honour Peace And Amity. In Bloodshed Living, Gentle Virtues All A Victim To His Martial Taste Will Fall. Xi. In Ancient Days, When Men Were More Uncouth Than Now They Are, It Might Be Well, Perchance, That They Should Study Warfare, For, In Sooth, The Man Who Knew Not How To Poise The Lance Or Wield The Mighty Battle-Axe, Was Then Despised And Scorned By All His Fellow-Men. Xii. But Now The Code Of Honour Should Not Be As Crude And Rough As In That Ancient Day. The Onward March Of Christianity Should Sweep The Sword And Battle-Axe Away; And Love, The Creed Which Christ Our Master Taught, Should Bring The Pride Of Martial Skill To Nought. Xiii. Let Man Still Glory In The Strength And Might That God Has Given Him. But It Were Well That He Should Use It Not At All To Fight Against His Fellow-Men. He Still Can Dwell In Peace With Them, And Yet Retain The Power Which Is His Great And Justly-Valued Dower. Xiv. I Turn Me From The Thoughts Of War, And Gaze With Pleased Eyes Upon This Little Bay. So Bright A Scene, In All My Exiled Days, I Have Not Looked Upon; And Like A Ray Of Light Upon My Darkened Life It Seems, Reviving Hope Within Me By Its Beams. Xv. The Bay Is Dotted With A Hundred Boats, And Brightly On The Sail Of Many A Skiff The Evening Sun Is Shining, As It Floats Upon The Water, Shining Thus As If To Tell The Little Skiff, As On She Goes, That He Will Guard Her From Tempestuous Foes. Xvi. In Every Boat I See, A Maiden Fair Accompanies The Rower, And The Sound Of Merriment And Laughter On The Air Arises, Softly Echoing Around. And All Seem Bright And Happy, And Have One To Keep Them So--I Only Sit Alone. Xvii. I Sit Alone As They Pass Joyous By, Nor Note My Presence; Or, If They Should See, Their Eyes But Rest Upon Me Absently, Then Turn Away. They All Are Strange To Me, And I To Them. More Lonely Is My Mood Here, Than In Nature'S Wildest Solitude. Xviii. A Pang Of Emulation, So Severe 'Tis Almost Envy, Now Possesses Me; And, Were I Woman, Many A Bitter Tear Would Course My Cheeks. But Now I Am Not Free To Weep; My Heart, Though Throbbing In Its Pain, Uneased And Comfortless Must Yet Remain. Xix. Why Stand I Thus, And Gaze Upon This Scene, Since Gazing But Rewakes The Pain That Slept? I Had Not Thought That I Should Thus Have Been So Quickly Cheated Of The Strength Which Kept My Heart From Sorrowing. My Pliant Thought, Suspecting Not This Subtlety, Was Caught, Xx. And I Was Self-Deceived, As Many More Before Have Been. Man Estimates His Power By What He Would Do; And But Little Store Can Well Be Placed On This, What Time The Hour Of Trial Approaches. For 'Tis Sadly True, Man Often Cannot What He Wills To Do. Xxi. His Strength Is Not So Great As He Had Thought It Would Be; And Perchance, The Hour Of Trial Has Come And Gone, And Quick Defeat Has Brought, Without His Recognition. But Denial That It Has Come He Dare Not Now Put Forth, His Plain Defeat Would Make It Little Worth. Xxii. And Such Defeat, Unnoted And Unseen Till It Had Passed, Has Been My Own To-Day; And, With A Sense Of Mortified Chagrin, I Turn Me From The Pleasing View Away, And In The Busy City Seek To Find A New Diversion To Engage My Mind. Xxiii. How Pleasing Are Thy Streets And Avenues, Toronto! And What Massive Buildings Rise Adorning Them! I Cannot Now But Choose To Speak My Admiration. Yet It Lies Beyond My Power To Praise As Others Might, More Rich Than I In Words, This Noble Sight. Xxiv. One Mighty Pile Stands Out Pre-Eminent Among The Rest--Thy University, So Builded That Itself Will Represent Its Purpose, And To See It Is To Be Convinced, Ere Word Of Mouth So Testifies, That 'Twas Designed For Classic Purposes. Xxv. The Square-Built Tow'R, The Pillared Entrance-Way, The Massive Doors, And This Encolumned Porch, Proclaim That Here Stern Learning Holdeth Sway, And Here The Classic Muse Illumes Her Torch And, Standing Thus, A Grand, Imposing Whole, It Well May Awe My Poor Untutored Soul. Xxvi. I Wander On Along The Tree-Girt Streets, Admiring, By Compulsion, All The View. So Pleasing Is Each Changing Sight That Greets My Eye, As Thus I Slowly Wander Through The City, That Had Fate Not Bid Me Roam In Exile, Here I'D Gladly Make My Home. Xxvii. Here Happy Homes Surround Me, But The Sight Of Happiness Is But A Mockery To Me. My Life Is Like A Darkened Night, And Happiness Was Not Prepared For Me; And Rankest Disappointment, Unalloyed With Hope, My Trustful Patience Has Destroyed. Xxviii. Toronto, Fare Thee Well! I Cannot Stay Within Thy Gates. Eternal Restlessness Possesses Me. I Must Pursue My Way, Though Other Cities Will Impress Me Less Than Thou Hast Done. My Native Land Apart, Thou Standest First In This My Weary Heart. Xxix. Niagara'S Small Village Quiet Lies Where Flows The River In The Open Lake. The Thought Of Long-Past Actions Sanctifies This Little Spot. For Those Brave Soldiers' Sake Who Gladly Gave Their Lives A Sacrifice To Country, It Is Hallowed In My Eyes. Xxx. Here Britain'S Sons, And Here Canadians Were Slaughtered By The Ruthless Enemy, Who Swept The Country O'Er In Furtherance Of Their Unjust Desire To Gratify Their Evil Wish, To Tear From England'S Hand The Part Still Left Her In This Western Land. Xxxi. Americans, How Sadly Should Ye Mourn The Action Of Your Rulers On That Day, When Unrelenting Enmity Was Sworn Against Your Fathers' Land. Ye Cannot Say, As Six And Thirty Years Before Ye Said, That Gross Oppression Justified Your Deed. Xxxii. Nay, Ye Were Young, And, In Ambition'S Youth, Ye Sought To Raise You To A Greater State, And Waited Not To Think Of Honour'S Truth, But Rushed To War In Hope To Alienate The Fair Domain Of Canada, Which Lay, Apparently, A Not Unwilling Prey. Xxxiii. Speak Not Of Council Orders,[E] Nor Essay To Prove That These Alone Provoked The War. The Orders Were Rescinded Ere The Day Of Fighting Broke.[F] Not These Ye Battled For. Nor Did The Rights Of Search[G] Enrage Ye So As To Compel Your Being England'S Foe. Xxxiv. Ye Wanted More Dominion--This Alone Provoked Your Action; And, Since Every Nation In Europe In A State Of War Was Thrown, Your Action Merits Not Such Condemnation As Otherwise It Would. The Rage Of War Is Quickly Spread To Nations Near And Far. Xxxv. But 'Tis Not Mine To Speak Of That Campaign, Whose Battles Raged From Fort Niagara To Queenston Heights And Far-Famed Lundy'S Lane; Nor Yet Abated Until Chippewa, Black Rock, And Buffalo Were Summoned All To War And Bloodshed By The Bugle Call. Xxxvi. Too Long I'Ve Dwelt On Deeds Of War, Yet One Brave Deed Remains Which Must Not Be Untold; One Act--By Which A Gallant Fight Was Won, One Act--By Which Two Noble Lives Were Sold. This Only Act Recounting, I Will Cease To Speak Of War, And Court The Muse Of Peace. Xxxvii. On Queenston Heights The Battle Raged, And Far Around Was Heard Its Long-Continued Roar. It Echoed Loudly Where Niagara Lies Nestling On Ontario'S Green Shore. It Echoed Loudly, Nor Escaped The Ear Of Him Whose Gallant Heart Was Steeled To Fear. Xxxviii. The Noble Brock Paused Not When Thus He Heard The Sound Of Warfare. Turning To His Aide, He Bade Him Hastily To Give The Word To Saddle Horse. Then Rapidly They Made Their Way Across The Country To The Height, And Soon Were In The Thickest Of The Fight. Xxxix. In Numbers Far Unequal To The Foe, The British Had Retired. The Battery Was Taken By The Enemy; Though Slow, Defeat For Britain Seemed A Certainty; When Brock Arrived Upon The Battle-Field, And Bade Them Form Again, Nor Ever Yield. Xl. Himself Then Leading, Onward To The Fray They Charged, Restrengthened By His Confidence; And Soon They Saw The Enemy Give Way, Retiring Slowly From The Eminence. The Day Was Theirs, The Tide Of Battle Turned, But Dearly Was That Day Of Victory Earned! Xli. The Noble Brock Would Raise His Sword No More; No More His Cheering Word Would Lead Them On. His Soul Had Passed Away From Scenes Of War, His Latest Battle Had Been Fought And Won. And With His Spirit, In Its Upward Flight, The Soul Of Young Macdonell Passed That Night. Xlii. A Lofty Monument, Upon The Height Where Fell These Two, Commemorates Their Deed. There Stands It, Tow'Ring High Within The Sight Of Either Land. Thus Let It Stand, And Plead, In Silent Mournfulness, That Further Feud Between The Lands Shall Never Be Renewed. Xliii. For We Are Brothers Still--The Bond Of Blood Unites Us Closely, And, Though Each Has Done The Other Wrong, Unselfish Deeds And Good, Which Since Have Been Exchanged, Should Quite Atone For Injuries Long Past. Then Clasp Our Hand, America. As Brothers Let Us Stand. Xliv. I Wander Up The River'S Bank, My Thought Still Dwelling On Those Troublous Times Of Yore, Until My Mind By Slow Degrees Is Brought To Present Times And Scenes. A Distant Roar At First Recalls Me From My Reverie, Then Bids Me Trace My Steps Less Tardily. Xlv. I Know Not Why, Yet, As I Press My Way Towards The World-Renowned Falls, I Feel A Thrill Of Awe, Which Words May Not Convey Description Of. The Feeling May Be Real Or Fanciful, But Now My Trembling Soul Seems Nearer God, And More In His Control. Xlvi. Majestic Falls! What Little Words Of Mine Can Paint Thy Grandeur? How Can I Essay To Picture Such Unpictured Might As Thine? And Yet I Would Not Silent Pass Away, And Carry With Me Nothing That Recalls The Grandeur Of Niagara'S Proud Falls. Xlvii. On, On, Tumultuous Waters, Ever On Unceasingly Ye Rush, And Blindly Leap From Giddy Heights, In Volume All Unknown, Down, Down The Jagged Rock-Protruding Steep, And, Ever Breaking As Ye Downward Go, Burst Forth In Show'Rs Like Iridescent Snow. Xlviii. Here, Rolling In Unbroken Shining Green, Your Waters Smoothly Curve Them O'Er The Cliff. No Sign Of Foam Or Bubbling Break Is Seen As In Their Glassy Depth They Roll, As If While All Around Is Wreck And Chaos Wild, They Dare To Flow Conspicuously Mild. Xlix. And Here Again They Break While Rushing O'Er Some Rugged Rock--A Million Flecks Of Spray Rise, High Projected In The Air; Before These Fall, Or In The Sunlight Melt Away, A New-Born Cloud, In High-Aspiring Pride, Bursts Forth, And Casts Its Foam-Drops Far And Wide. L. And Each New Cloud A Thing Of Life Appears, And Each Leaps Forth As Though Its Wild Intent Were Solely To Out-Distance Its Compeers, And Rise More High Than They. And Each Seems Bent On Reaching To A Height Unreached Before, And Tells Its Purpose In A Muffled Roar. Li. While, Far Below, A Rocky Destiny Awaits The Mighty Waters. Loud Resounds The Roaring Of Their Falling Constantly, While From The Rocks The Foaming Mass Rebounds; And Upward Rising, Far Above The Height, A Mist Half Hides The Waters From My Sight. Lii. The Evening Sun Illumes The Rising Spray, And Forms A Bow In Beauty Unsurpassed. Above The Falls It Bends Its Glist'Ning Ray, While In The Deep Its Radiance Is Cast. And, As The Mist Or Fades Or Thickens, So It Breaks Or Forms Again The Changing Bow. Liii. Above The Falls The Rushing Rapids Rage, In Awesome Grandeur Only Less Than They. Thus Have They Madly Tossed From Age To Age, And Thus Have Galloped On Their Heedless Way. In Ceaseless Ferment, And In Constant Change, Wide O'Er Their Rocky Area They Range. Liv. Now Foaming Whitely, Now In Rippling Waves Unbroken, Haste They Onward To Their Fate; Each Speeding Hurriedly As Though It Craves An Early Death. So Reckless Is The Rate Which Some Pursue, That, With A Sudden Shock, They Burst In Foam-Clouds On A Hidden Rock. Lv. Rush On, Ye Mighty Waters, And Declare To Self-Conceited Man His Littleness; Rush On, And Give Your Music To The Air, And Calm Our Thoughts And Make Our Sorrows Less; For As A Friend By Words Of Sympathy Can Soothe Us, By Your Music So Can Ye. Lvi. For In Your Music We Can Hear The Voice Of Him Whose Hand Hath Made Both Ye And Us, And We, In Deepest Gratitude, Rejoice, And Thank Him Who Has Made Ye So. And Thus, While Listening To Your Music-Roar To-Day, I Seem To Hear The Spirit Speak And Say: Lvii. "As Constant Roll These Waters O'Er The Steep, So Ceaselessly Thy Father Watcheth Thee; As Day And Night They Run, And Never Sleep, So Worketh He Throughout Eternity; And As Their Volume'S Measure Is Unknown, So Boundless Is His Love Towards His Own. Lviii. "Then Fear Not, Troubled Soul, Nor Seek To Know What Destiny Has Been Prepared For Thee. Thou Seest These Mighty Waters Onward Flow, Conforming Thus To All Their Lord'S Decree-- Then Live Thou As Thy Conscience Bids Thee Live, And Know That God Due Recompense Will Give." Lix. Rush On, Ye Waters, With Your Message Fraught Of Constant Love And Care Of God; Rush On Through Lake And Ocean, Until Ye Have Brought Your Message To The One Whose Love Has Shone Through Darkness On My Life; And Bear From Me A Message, Too, Of Love And Constancy. * * * * * Though Far I Roam From Thee, My Fondest Love, My Thought To Theeward Constantly By Love'S Dear Bond Is Brought. Whate'Er I Hear Or See, If Not Thy Voice Or Face, Has Interest For Me For But A Little Space. And, Whatso'Er Befall, It Little Recks To Me, If It Be Not A Call, To Summon Me To Thee. My Widowed Spirit Cries Aloud For Her Twin-Soul; My Heart In Sorrow Lies, And Needs Thee To Console. Thus All My Being Faints, And For Thy Presence Pants; In Sorrowful Complaints It Mourns Our Severance. Then, Dearest One, Think Not That We Shall Never Be United--Such A Lot Is Not For Thee And Me. And When At Last We Meet, (As Is Our Destiny), In Commune Pure And Sweet We'Ll Live Eternally. Canto The Fifth. I. Around, Both Far And Wide, On Every Hand The Prairie All Environs Me; I See Nought Save A Stretch Of Green And Treeless Land, Conspicuous Alone For Nudity: A Sea Of Earth, A Boundless Stretch Unspanned Except By Heaven'S Broad Horizon-Band. Ii. The Very Vastness Of Its Sameness Lends A Fascination Which It Else Had Not; And Here My Sense Of Solitude Transcends What I Have Felt On Any Other Spot: Of Solitude, Yet Not Of Loneliness, For God Seems Present, And His Distance Less. Iii. The Sea Alone Of Nature'S Works Can Vie With This In Solitude. None Else Can Be Compared To It. Here 'Neath His Maker'S Eye The Creature Seems To Stand More Openly Than Elsewhere. Here His Very Solitude Makes Man Appear By God More Nearly Viewed. Iv. Yet Is Not Here God'S Awfulness Displayed; His Kindliness And Mercy More Appear; For Flow'Rs, The Precious Emblems He Has Made Of Graciousness, In Plenitude Are Here. In Rich Profusion Blooming Unconfined, They Seem To Whisper Softly: "God Is Kind." V. Yet Break They Not The Solitude; Nor Can The Works Of Nature Break The Solitude. Man Needs The Presence Of His Fellow-Man, And Ever Needs It, Whatsoe'Er His Mood; Except When, In The Hour He Calls His Own, He Holds Communion With His God Alone. Vi. How Vast This Solitude! And Yet 'Tmay Be That, Ere A Decade'S Course Is Fully Run, This Prairie, Where No Being I Can See Inhabiting, May Be Well Built Upon; And Even On This Lonely Stretch Of Ground Surrounding Me, A City May Be Found. Vii. So Rapidly Have Risen In The Past The Cities In This Western Land, That Well May We Expect That Not At All Less Fast Shall Future Cities Rise. And Here May Dwell A Population, Whose Increasing Rate Shall Rival Cities Of An Older Date. Viii. I Once Had Thought That I Would Choose To Live Upon The Prairie-Land. My Youthful Eyes Raised Here A Mighty Castle, Which Should Give A Home To Me And Mine. To Youth There Lies A Fascination In The Great Unknown, Which Some In Old Age Have Not Yet Outgrown. Ix. Thus Was I Fascinated, And I Thought A Prairie Life, Untrammeled, Free And Blest, Much Happiness To Me Had Surely Brought; And So I Longed To Roam The Mighty West. But Kindly Fate Forbade Me Then To Roam, Well Knowing That The West Was Not My Home. X. But Now I Stand Upon The Prairie, Now I See The Land Which Once I Longed To See-- And Fain Must Smile, As I Remember How This Land Seemed Once A Paradise To Me. But That Was Ere My Eye Had Ever Seen These Thousand Miles Of Treeless Prairie-Green. Xi. Nay, This Is Not The Prairie That I Saw In Youth'S Mirage; 'Twas Fairer Far Than This. For Youth'S Imagination Knows No Law, And Soars To Heights Of Future-Coming Bliss, In Lands Where Gladness Reigns Eternally, Too Bright, Too Beautiful, Alas! To Be. Xii. For Each His Load Of Pain And Woe Must Bear, And Each Must Feel The Weight Of Sorrow'S Hand, And Each Will Sometimes Bow In Deep Despair, And 'Neath His Burden Think He Cannot Stand. But Strength Will Come To Each In Time Of Need, For They Whom Grief Destroys Are Few Indeed. Xiii. Thus Youth'S Bright Visions Vanish All Away, And Nought Remains Save Memory. And We Can Calmly Watch Them Thus Dissolve, And Say:-- "'Tis Better Thus; 'Tis Best They Should Not Be." For Time Has Shown Us, In His Onward Flight, That All Our Visions Were Too Grossly Bright; Xiv. That, Had The Dreams We Cherished Come To Pass, We Should Not Be The Men That Now We Are; That What We Saw Through Youth'S Bright Distance-Glass Was But A Trinket Shining As A Star; That Selfish Pleasure, With Its Gaudy Gleams, Alone Illumed The Brightest Of Our Dreams. Xv. And We Have Learned That 'Tis Not All To Be Self-Seeking Pleasure-Hunters; Higher Far Are Works Of Kindliness And Charity Which We Can Do, Whate'Er Our Frailties Are. And We Have Learned That Pain And Sorrow, Though Unwelcome Guests, Have Each A Work To Do. Xvi. And So We Grieve Or Sorrow Not To See Our Visions Melt Away Like Winter'S Snow; But Rather Thank We All Our God That He Sent Forth The Edict That It Should Be So; And Humbly Bless, With Gratitude Sincere, The Hand That Led Us To A Higher Sphere. Xvii. Farewell! Thou Vast And Fertile Prairie-Land. Farewell! Not Long So Dreary Wilt Thou Be; Already Man, With Ever-Busy Hand, Is Cultivating And Enriching Thee; And With The Wealth Of This, Thy Virgin Soil, Thou Well Rewardest Him For All His Toil. Xviii. In Cloudy Height Surrounding Me, Uprear The Rocky Mountains Their Uncounted Heads. And Mountains, Mountains Only Now Appear, So Thickly Clustered That The Sun But Sheds Upon Their Highest Peaks His Morning Light, While All Below Is Hidden From His Sight. Xix. Here Rise Their Sky-Aspiring Pinnacles In Barren Ruggedness And Majesty; While Here Some Verdure-Covered Height Instils An Awe Less Dread By Its Fertility; And Here Again, A Peak Of Snowy Whiteness Relieves The Gloom And Shadow By Its Brightness. Xx. Each One A Thing Of Grandeur, Each Alone Inspiring Fearsome Wonder In My Soul, What Marvel That My Being All Is Thrown Aghast In Awe By This Stupendous Whole? What Wonder That I Stand In Mute Amaze, Dumfounded By The Scene Whereon I Gaze? Xxi. My God, How Wonderful Thy Works Appear! How Mighty Art Thou, And Omnipotent! Before Thee, Bending Low In Reverent Fear, I Humbly Bow. My Human Pride Is Bent.