ISLES OF SHOALS.
ISLES of mid ocean! how lovely ye stand,
Surrounded by waters that sparkle and glow;
List! may my brow by thy breezes be fanned—
I seek for a treasure; say, canst thou bestow?
Tell me if health for the weak and the weary
Is found in the waves that glisten and foam?
Long have I wandered, faint-hearted and dreary,
In search of this blessing,—how long shall I roam?
Surrounded by waters that sparkle and glow;
List! may my brow by thy breezes be fanned—
I seek for a treasure; say, canst thou bestow?
Tell me if health for the weak and the weary
Is found in the waves that glisten and foam?
Long have I wandered, faint-hearted and dreary,
In search of this blessing,—how long shall I roam?
I played in the streams that gush from the mountains,
In childhood, not far away from thy shores;
Thy history familiar—but where are the fountains
Of health and of joy my spirit implored?
How oft have I sat, unconscious of sorrow,
And listened to tales by the mariners told,
On a neighboring isle, where fancy would borrow
Sad pictures of wrecks that thy caverns enfold.
In childhood, not far away from thy shores;
Thy history familiar—but where are the fountains
Of health and of joy my spirit implored?
How oft have I sat, unconscious of sorrow,
And listened to tales by the mariners told,
On a neighboring isle, where fancy would borrow
Sad pictures of wrecks that thy caverns enfold.
Long have ye slumbered, fair isles of the ocean,
Forgotten, neglected your virtues and worth,
Save by the Father—to Him our devotion
Is due, ever due, for His riches on earth.
Science, unfolding her truths to the miner
Who seeks for her gems and brings them to light,
Has taught us thy breezes are purer and finer—
Thy soft, soothing balms the stricken invite.
Forgotten, neglected your virtues and worth,
Save by the Father—to Him our devotion
Is due, ever due, for His riches on earth.
Science, unfolding her truths to the miner
Who seeks for her gems and brings them to light,
Has taught us thy breezes are purer and finer—
Thy soft, soothing balms the stricken invite.
Barren and rough, yet still how suggestive;
Thy chasms how wild, how awfully grand;
And those rolling billows, so dark and so restive,
Upheld by the might of an infinite hand!
Where are thy naiads? Their vestures are clinging
Around the huge ramparts that girdle each isle;
Where are their dwellings? 'Their voices are ringing;
Come they at even? We'll linger awhile.
Thy chasms how wild, how awfully grand;
And those rolling billows, so dark and so restive,
Upheld by the might of an infinite hand!
Where are thy naiads? Their vestures are clinging
Around the huge ramparts that girdle each isle;
Where are their dwellings? 'Their voices are ringing;
Come they at even? We'll linger awhile.
Hasten, ye visions of hope so entrancing!
And vanish, ye dreams—O wherefore inthrall,
While promise of health my pleasure enhancing,
On the sorrowing past the curtain may fall.
From the dawning of day till the closing of even
We'll sing of thy praises, though simple the song;
With gratitude, love, and the strength that is given,
Untold recollections around thee will throng.
And vanish, ye dreams—O wherefore inthrall,
While promise of health my pleasure enhancing,
On the sorrowing past the curtain may fall.
From the dawning of day till the closing of even
We'll sing of thy praises, though simple the song;
With gratitude, love, and the strength that is given,
Untold recollections around thee will throng.