 | The poetical works of William H. C. Hosmer |  |
207
OUR FATHERS.
Renown to the band—that free, bold band
Who forsook the paternal hall,
And in maze lone of a wild unknown
Dared to rear the cabin-wall!
The wolf from his lair fled with bristling hair,
And old Night from his couch upsprung,
For his slumber was broke by the clashing oak—
The knell of his empire rung—
Then praise to the band—that free, bold band
Who went forth from paternal hall—
Nor the wintry gale, nor famine pale
Could their storm-proof hearts appall.
Who forsook the paternal hall,
And in maze lone of a wild unknown
Dared to rear the cabin-wall!
The wolf from his lair fled with bristling hair,
And old Night from his couch upsprung,
For his slumber was broke by the clashing oak—
The knell of his empire rung—
Then praise to the band—that free, bold band
Who went forth from paternal hall—
Nor the wintry gale, nor famine pale
Could their storm-proof hearts appall.
Where roved the wild man, with his whooping clan,
In the vale of the Genesee,
Now the lap of art, and the busy mart
Hold the spoils of land and sea:
Proud vessels ride on the waters wide
Where darted the birch canoe—
Like a ghost of the night scared by morning light,
Fled the groves—all moss'd—from view.
Then praise to the band—that free, bold band
Who forsook the paternal hall—
Nor the wintry gale, nor famine pale
Could their storm-proof hearts appall.
In the vale of the Genesee,
Now the lap of art, and the busy mart
Hold the spoils of land and sea:
Proud vessels ride on the waters wide
Where darted the birch canoe—
Like a ghost of the night scared by morning light,
Fled the groves—all moss'd—from view.
Then praise to the band—that free, bold band
Who forsook the paternal hall—
Nor the wintry gale, nor famine pale
Could their storm-proof hearts appall.
| The poetical works of William H. C. Hosmer | |