Of the children fair Citizen or Squire, Tory, Whig, or Radical would all desire Peg of Limavaddy. Had I Homer's fire, Or that of Serjeant Taddy, Meetly I'd admire Peg of Limavaddy. And till I expire, Or till I grow mad, I Wili sing unto my lyre Peg of Limavaddy! MAY-DAY ODE. BUT yesterday a naked sod, The dandies sneered from Rotten Row, And cantered o'er it to and fro; And see 'tis done! As though 'twere by a wizard's rod A quiet green but few days since, A palace as for fairy Prince, A rare pavilion, such as man Saw never, since mankind began And built and glazed! A peaceful place it was but now, A countless throng, I see beneath the crystal bow, And Gaul and German, Russ and Turk, Each with his native handiwork And busy tongue. I felt a thrill of love and awe To mark the different garb of each, The changing tongue, the various speech A thrill, methinks, like His who saw High sovereign, in your Royal state, Are open set; Hush! ere you pass the shining gate; A moment yet. People and prince a silence keep! The while the priest, Before the splendid portal step, (While still the wondrous banquet stays,) From Heaven supreme a blessing prays Upon the feast. Then onwards let the triumph march; And pass the gate. Pass underneath the shining arch, 'Neath which the leafy elms are green; Ascend unto your throne, O queen! And take your state. Behold her in her Royal place; A gentle lady; and the hand That sways the sceptre of this land, How frail and weak! Soft is the voice, and fair the face, and hymn; She breathes amen to prayer And pale her cheek. This moment round her empire's shores O! awful is that crown of yours, Of English May! A wondrous sceptre 'tis to bear, The foremost crown Of all the world, on one so fair! That chose her to it from her birth, And bade the sons of all the earth To her bow down. The representatives of man Here from the far Antipodes, And from the subject Indian seas In Congress meet; From Afric and from Hindustan, From Western continent and isle, The envoys of her empire pile Gifts at her feet. Our brethren cross the Atlantic tides, Loading the gallant decks which once Roared a defiance to our guns, With peaceful store; Symbol of peace, their vessel rides! * From Rhine and Danube, Rhone and Seine, As rivers from their sources gush, The swelling floods of nations rush, And seaward pour: From coast to coast in friendly chain, With countless ships we bridge the straits, And angry ocean separates Europe no more. From Mississippi and from Nile- Are friend and guest. Look down the mighty sunlit aisle, Around the feast! Along the dazzling colonnade, Far as the straining eye can gaze, Gleam cross and fountain, bell and vase, In vistas bright. And statues fair of nymph and maid, To deck the glorious roof and dome, The peaceful hosts of industry Their standards bear. The U. S. frigate St. Lawrence. |