 | [Sonnets, in] The Christian keepsake, and missionary annual, for MDCCCXLIX |  |
29
II. Yes rest, and ponder what the nations owe
Yes rest, and ponder what the nations owe—From the mysterious sacrifice apart—
To this rude emblem. Hence did learning start;
The savage melted 'neath Religion's glow;
Hence Peace and civilizing Science flow,
Refining Culture and creative Art;
The social ties which soothe man's rugged heart,
Beneath its blessing to perfection grow;
And budding hopes around it freshly bloom.
Still we beneath the Druid's leafy gloom
Might wander dark; or, at Valhalla's board,
Hope, with its gods, the foaming cans to smite,
Had not this symbol of our martyred Lord
Like an Aurora, lit the boreal night.
| [Sonnets, in] The Christian keepsake, and missionary annual, for MDCCCXLIX | |