Lines in Pleasant Places :: :: University of Virginia Library

Lines in Pleasant Places

Rhythmics of many moods and quantities. Wise and otherwise

Shillaber, B. P. (1814-1890)

OCCASIONAL PIECES.

WAR LYRICS.

FRIENDLY PERSONALITIES.

DR. HAYES.

UNCONSIDERED TRIFLES.

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174

DR. HAYES.

[_]

[On his departure for the Hyperborean Regions.]

Undoubtedly great revelations wait
The search of our indomitable Hayes,
Who boldly knocketh at the Boreal gate,
Ne'er half unfolded to explorer's gaze.
Perhaps 'twill be his enviable fate
To find what makes the borealis blaze,
See the big hole about which Symmes did prate,
That oped its ponderous jaws up thereaways,
Discover and annex another state
That he may govern some of these odd days,
Know if the pole be tall and very straight
About which people long have felt a craze;—
An ice-king he, about whose regal pate
Shall twine the wreath of many Arctic bays.

Note.—The prophecy and hope expressed in the above sonnet were as nearly verified as could, or perhaps ever can be, and the bold determination, endurance, and pluck of the explorer won for him an exalted place among the brave spirits who have dared the same perils that he encountered.