Page:Songs, Legends, and Ballads.djvu/116

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
104
SONGS, LEGENDS, AND BALLADS.

THE FEAST OF THE GAEL.


ST. PATRICK'S DAY.

I.


WHAT a union of hearts is the love of a mother
When races of men in her name unite!
For love of Old Erin, and love of each other,
The boards of the Gael are full to-night!
Their millions of men have one toast and one topic—
Their feuds laid aside and their envies removed;
From the pines of the Pole to the palms of the Tropic,
They drink: "The dear Land we have prayed for and loved!"
They are One by the bond of a time-honored fashion;
Though strangers may see but the lights of their feast.