 | Later Lays and Lyrics |  |
49
THE THOUSAND ISLES.
Air—“Beautiful Isle of the Sea.”
I.
Isles of enchantment divine!Glory ye give to a river
Broader than Danube or Rhine,
Brighter than swift Gauldalquiver.
Midsummer hangs round your shores
Mists that are purple and golden;
Song times the dipping of oars,
Now, as in the days that are olden.
Chorus.
Haunts of the tameless and wild!Homes of the fearless and free!
Lovelier isles never smiled,
Belted by blue of the sea.
II.
Isles that laugh first when the springFrees from ice-bondage the torrents,
Jewels are ye in the ring
Worn by the mighty St. Lawrence.
Indian encampments of yore
Charms to the scenery were lending;
O'er yon dark cedars no more
Smoke from old hearths is ascending.
Haunts of the tameless, &c.
III.
Isles where the morning first beams,More than a thousand in number,
50
Woke by the wild winds from slumber.
Channels of silvery flow
Gems of the sisterhood sever;
Evergreen mantles bestow
Beauty that drapes them forever.
Haunts of the tameless, &c.
IV.
Oberon, king of the elves!Court in yon arbor seems holding;
Blossoms on gray, rocky shelves,
Wet by the spray, are unfolding.
Undine to Echo might list,
Sands grained with gold for a pillow,
Where water-lillies are kissed
By the blue lips of the billow.
Haunts of the tameless, &c.
V.
Edens, bewitchingly fair!Soft, crimson haze o'er ye hovers;
Bowers giving fragrance to air,
Wove by the wood-nymphs for lovers.
Scarred in the battle of life,
Folly and falsehood forsaking,
Who would not rest from the strife,
Home midst these green islands making?
Haunts of the tameless, &c.
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