University of Virginia Library

Search this document 
Songs of a Stranger

by Louisa Stuart Costello

collapse section
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SUPPOSED TO BE SUNG BY THE WIFE OF A JAPANESE WHO HAD BEEN TAKEN BY THE RUSSIANS TO THEIR COUNTRY.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


90

SUPPOSED TO BE SUNG BY THE WIFE OF A JAPANESE WHO HAD BEEN TAKEN BY THE RUSSIANS TO THEIR COUNTRY.

Saranna is the bread-fruit of the Japanese.

Baidare—the Japanese boat.

They ornament their parkis and all their dresses with the feathers of the sea-parrot, storm-finch, and mauridor.

Purple jessamine, Bignoria grandiflora, is a climbing plant, native of Japan—flowers purple.

Japan produces red pearls, which are no less esteemed than white.

I look through the mist and I see thee not—
Are thy home and thy love so soon forgot?
Sadly closes the weary day,
And still thy bark is far away.
The tent is ready, the mats are spread,
The saranna is pluck'd for thee:
Alas! what fate has thy baidare led
So far from thy home and me!
Has my bower no longer charms for thee?
Where the purple jessamines twine
Round the stately spreading cedar tree,
And rest in its arms so tenderly—
As I have reposed in thine.

91

In vain have I found the sea-parrot's nest,
And robb'd of its plumes her glittering breast,
Thy mantle with varied hues to adorn—
Thou hast left me watchful and forlorn!
Dost thou roam amidst the eagle flocks,
Whose aerie is in the highest rocks?
Dost thou seek the fox in his hiding place?
Or hold the beaver in weary chase?
Dost thou seek, beneath the foaming tide,
Where the precious red pearls hide?
Return! the evening mist is chill,
And sad is my watch on the lonely hill.
Return! the night wind is cold on my brow,
And my heart is as cold and desolate now:—
Alas! I await thee and hope in vain,
I shall never behold thy return again! [OMITTED] [OMITTED]
She stood on the beach all the starless night,
But nought appear'd to her eager sight;

92

No bark on its bosom the ocean bore,
And he she loved return'd no more.
For the strangers came from the icy north,
And their words and their gifts had won him forth;
Their ship sail'd far from his native bay,
And it bore him to other regions away.
 

See Notes.