h0Y 
 
 P 60R0 
 
 AND 
 
 OTHE!J POEMS 
 
 4 
 
NP 
 
 ^ ^ 
 
 AND 
 
 OTHER POEMS 
 
 t- 
 
 BY 
 
 THE REV. DUNCAN ANDERSON, M.A. 
 
 MONYMUSK. 
 
 ( < 
 
 Quod St>iRo, et Placko, si Placed, 
 
 TUUM EST." 
 
 i$tontt*(al : 
 
 PRINTED BY JOHN LOVELL <Sr* SON. 
 
 1890. 
 
\J 
 
 Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the year one 
 thousand eight hundred and ninety, by Duncan Anderson, in the 
 office of the Minister of Agriculture. 
 
TO 
 
 
 
 AND TO 
 
 These Lays are respectfuUy dedicated by special permission. 
 
 From the example and influence of the gifted Daughter of 
 our Gracious Queen, our Schools of Art received an impulse 
 that has borne good fruit, and the seed sown by her fostering 
 hand may soon yield the increase of a hundred fold. 
 
 To the Descendant of Men who *' spared neither limb nor 
 life, in the brave days of old," our Royal Society will, year by 
 year, with eloquent tongue and pen, pay due respect, and Poet, 
 Historian and Sage will unite to weave for its Founder a 
 chaplet, fairer than the laurels of the mightiest Conqueror. 
 
 And to both, on this humble page, in remembrance of many 
 pleasing reminiscences associated with their brief slay in 
 Canada, most kindly greetings are presented by 
 
 THE AUTHOE, 
 
 MoNYMUSK, December, 1890. 
 
HiBWi^ 
 
 mm 
 
 k^YS O^d^l^^PA 
 
 THE QUEEN'S JUBILEE. 
 May 24, 1887. 
 
 Build high a temple that shall rise 
 . O 'er every dome that greets the skies. 
 And load each niche from argosies 
 
 Of every shore, 
 Wherever Britain's standard flies 
 
 Her children o'er. 
 
 Let priceless gems that starlike shine, 
 And diamonds delved from Afric mine^ 
 With orient pearls and gold combine, 
 
 In glorious sheen, 
 To crown, in Jubilee sublime, 
 
 Our Empress Queen, 
 
Far Ind', with ^air and jewelled hand, 
 
 Unfolds the treasures of her land ; 
 
 Nor could famed Sheba's Queen command 
 
 OiTrings more meet 
 To lay, nor with a nobler band, 
 
 At Monarch's feet. 
 
 Ceylon's fair Isle her ivory brings, 
 And glossy furs, meet spoils for kings : 
 Cashmere her airy texture flings 
 
 O'er beauty's form, 
 While birds of bright and golden wings 
 
 These halls adorn. 
 
 And spices from a hundred isles, 
 
 The riches gleaned from Southern soils; 
 
 Ripe sunny fruits, and Arctic spoils 
 
 Commingling form 
 A monument ; — of noble toils 
 
 And manhood born. 
 
 But mark the nobler pageant nigh ; 
 With matchless form, with dauntless eye, 
 Her helm on brow, her spear on high, 
 
 In regal car, 
 Britannia passes proudly by, 
 
 All armed for war. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS, 
 
 A thousand horsemen round her wheel ; 
 A thousand blades of glittering steel : 
 While rank on rank the arm reveal 
 
 Of England's might; 
 And land and sea uphold one shield, 
 
 To guard her right. 
 
 Hail ! stalwart sons of Austral sires, 
 Whose bosoms glow with martial fires ; 
 No new-born zeal your soul inspires 
 
 With love of fame ; 
 Your "Egypt battle-flag" aspires 
 
 To nobler name. 
 
 The Ghoorka wields his tulwar bright; 
 The Sikh spurs on like errant knight; 
 The swarthy Sepoy — lithe and light — 
 
 Speeds swiftly by ; 
 And countless Hillmen shout with might 
 
 Their battle cry. 
 
 \- 
 
 But hark ! I hear a choral song, 
 Oft heard Canadian woods among ; 
 So heard her foes, nor waited long, 
 
 To meet her steel, 
 Cursed be the hand would work thee wrong, 
 
 Or mar thy weal ! 
 
»« LAYS OF CANADA 
 
 A varied host,— they hurry past, 
 Calm as the breeze,— fierce as the blast, 
 That hurls below the shivered mast, 
 
 When tempests roar; 
 To quell the foe, alike they grasp 
 
 The sword or oar. 
 
 The lurid heavens like furnace glow ; 
 The Arctic blizzards round them blow, 
 And pile on h gh the drifting snow, 
 
 Till mountains form ; 
 The woodmen fear not mortal foe, 
 
 . V Nor sun, nor storm. 
 
 And v/ith that dauntless, noble band. 
 Marshalled from many a distant strand, 
 Sons of her soil join hand in hand 
 
 In proud array, 
 And flaunt the trophies, won by brand 
 
 On battle day. 
 
 Light-hearted sons of Erin's Isle 
 March on, nor dream of fear or toil ; 
 Their ringing jests dull cares beguile, 
 
 Or gloomy speech ; 
 No braver hearts the foe to foil. 
 
 Or mount the breach. 
 
i 
 
 AND OTHER POEMS, 
 
 It 
 
 The loud huzza and maniy cheer 
 Proclaim the Saxon warrior near : v 
 His is no soul for doubt or fear, 
 
 When honor calls; 
 Nor cannon's roar nor flashing spear 
 
 His heart appalls. 
 
 And where the pibroch proudly swells, 
 Thrilling each heart where Scotia dwells, 
 The nodding plume the story tells 
 
 Of love supreme, 
 And blood that flowed like mountain wells 
 
 For Scotland's Queen. 
 
 Our broadsides thund'ring o'er the deep,. 
 Where England's navies proudly sweep, 
 And belching guns from lofty steep, 
 
 Flash forth her fame, 
 And British hearts shall sacred keep 
 
 Victoria's name. 
 
 But as the lyre Anacreon strung 
 Left grand heroic deeds unsung, 
 And still to love's sweet murmurs clung, 
 
 ... With echoing string; 
 
 The pageant past—the paeans rung — 
 
 " Sweet home " we sing. 
 
 t 
 
A simple maiden She, nor gem, 
 Nor sceptre hers, nor diadem ; • -. 
 And by her side, of noble name, 
 
 And manly art, 
 Stands one, love's harvesting to claim, 
 
 And hand and heart. 
 
 As loving wife,— as mother dear,— 
 Through many a bright revolving year 
 She plucked life's fruits,— nor care, nor fear. 
 
 Nor aught befell, 
 To wake a sigh, or draw one tear 
 
 f'rom sorrow's well. 
 
 But as in brightest, purest sky. 
 And cloudless to the clearest eye, 
 The gath'ring tempest hovers nigh, 
 
 To spend its might, 
 So may the light pass swiftly by, 
 
 And come dark night. 
 
 And came night when her loved, her own, 
 Sharing all joys save but the throne. 
 His eyelids closed and found a home, 
 
 Changeless and pure ; 
 While her's the task— widowed and lone- 
 Still to endure. 
 
-!- 
 
 AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 As warrior dies on battle day, 
 Where duty placed him in the fray, 
 So noble Alice lowly lay 
 
 Where crowns are rust ; 
 And stricken babe and mother's clay 
 
 Are *'dust to dust." 
 
 And he a mother loved so well, 
 On whom a father's mantle fell, 
 And gave the wisdom that could tell 
 
 The course to steer. 
 Lay down where Cannes' blue waters swell 
 
 On stran^fers' bier. 
 
 Still, tho' that heart be sad and lone ; 
 Tho' hopes have died and. joys have flown; 
 And like th'unmated dove's sad moan, 
 
 Her grief shall last, 
 A nation's cares she makes her own, 
 
 As in the past. 
 
 13 
 
 May blessings cheer thee on thy way. 
 And coming years brush tears iway, 
 Till shadows flee, and nightless day 
 
 At length be seen. 
 Our heart of hearts till then shall pray 
 '^GOD SAVE OUR QUEEN.! 
 
«4 
 
 LAYS OF CANADA 
 
 THE TRAPPER'S CHRISTMAS. 
 
 And this is Christmas morn ! 
 Yet I alone my vigils keep, 
 And woo in vain the toiler's sleep ; 
 
 For thoughts, conceived and born 
 Of scenes long fled, thro' mem'ry sweep, 
 Till the lone heart must either break or weep. 
 
 'Tis twenty years to-day 
 -Since Mary took my hand and ring, 
 And promised light and joy to bring ; 
 
 And I can truly say, 
 Our golden bells still blithely ring, 
 And Love has dropped no feather from his wing. 
 
 Sweet twenty years of bliss ! 
 And olive branches came, as flowers - \ 
 
 Come to adorn our springtide bowers; 
 
 Or fair Aurora's kiss ■ 
 That cheers the morn like summers howers, 
 And blends sweet music with our waking hours. 
 
■ 
 
 AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 15 
 
 Then why this throbbing heart ? 
 Why dim my eyes with blinding tears ? 
 Why hands shake, as if gathering years, 
 
 And all that cares impart 
 Had bent me down with age's fears, 
 Till every fond desire their malice sears ? 
 
 No ! No 1 Not age I ween 
 Has touched, to mar or hand or eye. 
 My stanch canoe I paddle by, 
 
 Where Red Men scarce have been ; 
 And dauntless thro' these wilds I hie, 
 Nor aught I fear save Him to whom I cry. 
 
 This hand is true as steel, 
 And never flinched when danger pressed. 
 That glossy hide once clutched this breast, 
 
 Till I could almost feel 
 No human strength could stand such test. 
 One knife-thrust given, and low lay Bruin's crest. 
 
 Alone I face the storm. 
 When fierce winds o'er the mountains sweep ; 
 When bird and beast to shelter creep ; 
 
 When trees are bent and torn ; 
 And deer cower down like frightened sheep. 
 And only men still onwards bravely keep. 
 

 
 
 
 i6 * , .. LAVS OF CANADA 
 
 .' 
 
 
 And in the wintry night, ' - 
 
 '« 
 
 
 When piercing cold the pine tree rends, . . 
 
 
 
 As when the iiiutt'ring thunder sends 
 
 
 
 Us heralds of its might ; 
 
 
 
 When the crisp snow its mantle lends^ 
 
 
 
 And thus from cruel death the partridge fends, 
 
 
 
 Ah ! then my cabin holds 
 The trapper safe from every foe, 
 The' axe-hewn door sways to and fro, 
 
 And slumber deep enfolds 
 This form, and tho a tempest blow, 
 Nor ear nor eyes the wild commotion know. 
 
 Not thus they feel who lie 
 With shingled roof above their head. 
 And court coy sleep on downy bed, 
 
 While bolt and bar defy 
 Aught that might o'er the threshold tread, 
 
 
 .► 
 
 To break such rest as still to ease is wed. 
 
 • 
 
 
 
 And yet 'tis strange to think 
 
 "*" 
 
 
 That months have passed, and not one sound 
 
 . , 
 
 
 V ' From human lips my ear has found; 
 
 
 
 Yet glows each golden link 
 
 
 
 That heart to heart has firmly bound, 
 
 
 
 Till severed souls feel one the world round. 
 
 
 
 ,-., 
 
 
T 
 
 AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 »7 
 
 A hundred leagues of snow, 
 Where human foot has ieft ro trace, 
 Stretch us between, and yet efface 
 
 No gleam of genial glow. 
 That lends a charm to heart and face, 
 And thro' each vein spurs on like headlong race. 
 
 Ah ! would I were to-day 
 Where round loved ones my arms Td fling; 
 Could see my home with welcomes ring ; 
 
 Could hear my children say, 
 " Oh ! leave no more, even gold to bring ; 
 Well may you rest, well fold the weary wing." 
 
 Peace ! beating heart be still. 
 Two moons must wax and wane before 
 I leave this lone lake's placid shore. 
 
 Leave this bold rocky hill, 
 And on my light toboggan store 
 Such spoils as mink and silver fox once wore. 
 
 Yet time may come when I 
 May lay this knife and gun aside; 
 Content in pleasing home to bide. 
 
 Without one longing sigh 
 To dare the rapids' foaming tide, 
 Or tent once more upon this mountain's side. 
 
 B 
 
-I 
 
 18 
 
 ^ LAVS OF CANADA 
 
 ' And then I'd drive afield 
 ]\Iy sturdy team to stir the soil. ....-■ 
 
 And aid my sons in springtide toil, - . . 
 
 Or reap fair autumn's yield. 
 'Twere better thus for asfe to moil 
 Than search thro' land and sea for hunter's spoil. 
 
 And when the darg is done, 
 How sweet tb rest beneath the tree; 
 To list the soft wind's melody, • 
 
 And mark the setting sun 
 Paint o'er with gold the waveless sea, 
 Till heaven seems near and earthly shadows flee. 
 
 But hark ! yon dolesome owl 
 Has launched his plaint upon the air, 
 That echoes back, as in despair, 
 
 Son:ie wild, weird, wolfish howl, 
 That springs the red deer from his lair. 
 And almost human hearts his larum share* 
 
 So flits this passing gleam, 
 So fades my house beside the shore ; 
 And still-born thoughts that fancy bore 
 
 Prove but a wakinc: dream. / 
 
 My hundred leagues are yet in store ; 
 I drop my wings, and bend me to my chore. 
 
.I'^d tin's !s Christmas morn ! / " "' " 
 And I will bow the willinir kne<", 
 And pray for tiiem who pray for me, 
 
 Till joy of hop2 be born ; — ' 
 Hope now that tells of mirth and glee. 
 When I shall reach '* Sweet Home " beside the sea. 
 
 
 r i 
 
 - .... i 
 
 ".* ' '■^- 
 
 ■» ^^ 
 
 '■* '1^- 
 
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 * •-. * 
 
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 -«■- ■• 
 
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 ■ 
 

 20 
 
 ZAVS OF CANADA 
 
 ODE TO THE PRINCE OF WALES. 
 
 (On his arrival in Quebec, August, i860.) 
 
 
 Son of a race whose thrice-illustrious name 
 
 Fills many a niche within the ** House of Fame," 
 
 And gilds the page where history unfolds 
 
 Time's storied treasures on its Cloth of Gold, 
 
 And from oblivion forth as willing brings 
 
 The deeds of peasant as the acts of kings ; 
 
 Son of a race that Fortune s hand has crowned 
 
 With every glory that on earth is found, 
 
 And yet whose proudest glory *tis to own 
 
 Not the mere fading tinsel of the throne, 
 
 But noblest virtues, that alike command 
 
 The love of high and lowliest of the land ; 
 
 Hope of each British heart we welcome thee, 
 
 Safe from the perils of the raging sea. 
 
 That stilled its angry waves and threatening roar 
 
 To waft thee safely to our Western shore. 
 
 Welcome ! uncounted voices mingling cry, 
 
 Loud as the thunder peal that rends the sky, 
 
 Till from the dwellers of our mighty land, 
 
 From Huron's wave to Labrador's bleak strand, 
 
 The swelling chorus of a nation's voice 
 
 Proclaims high holiday, and bids each heart rejoice. 
 
 Nor do we greet thee as a hero come 
 
 4- 
 
AND OTHER POEMS 21 
 
 To claim proud laurels that his sword has won. 
 
 No battle war-cry mingles with thy name. 
 
 To speak thy valour through the trump of fame ; 
 
 No heart shall bleed anew, no orphan's tear 
 
 Shall flow suggestive when thy steps are near; 
 
 But, binding on thy brow her stainless bays, 
 
 Sweet heaven-born peace shall loudly sing thy praise. 
 
 For nobler mission's thine than warrior brand, 
 
 To bear us greetings from our native land, 
 
 And teach our children that nor time nor space 
 
 May from our breasts the love of home efface. 
 
 Nor shall thy words of peace be breathed in vain, 
 
 Nor fail due homage from our hearts to gain ; 
 
 For, mark the varied hosts that throng the shore, 
 
 And rival well the cannon's deafening roar, — 
 
 Sons of New France stand brothers side by side, 
 
 And close their ranks with England's flower and pridcj 
 
 The waving tartans of the stalwart Gael, 
 
 The gay green banner of fair Erin's Isle, 
 
 And nodding war plumes of the Huron brave, 
 
 Together mingle free, together peaceful wave. 
 
 No war paint now begrimes the red man's cheek. 
 
 His tomahawk lies buried lone and deep, 
 
 His wampum tells of feuds that rage no more, 
 
 And pipe of peace succeeds the battle's roar. 
 
 Sons too of sires that met in dread array, 
 
 To pluck fresh laurels on each battle day, 
 
 The weapons of a nobler warfare wield. 
 
 And wage new battles on a bloodless field. 
 
 
t* ♦ 
 
 22 
 
 Z.IVS OF CANADA 
 
 l_ 
 
 The hands that hiid the train or sprung the mine, 
 
 Now mallets grasp and guide the plummet line 
 
 Till far on hiijh von noble column rose, . ' 
 
 That tells as well the praise of friends and foes ; ' 
 
 Nor cheek with shame may burn nor bosom rage, 
 
 To read the story of its sculptured page ; ' 
 
 While Abraham's plains shall yield the noblest shrine 
 
 Of hero worship to the q.w(S. of time, 
 
 And P'rance and England point with mutual pride 
 
 Where fell the great Montcalm, and Wolfe victorious 
 
 died. ' ' ■ ' 
 
 Go ! Scion of a race whose fostering' care 
 Matures those peaceful arts that millions share. 
 And mark the blessings that a peaceful hand 
 Has scattered broadcast o'er this beauteous land ; 
 Go, where stern nature rears her rugged throne, 
 Or claims each grace and beauty as her own ; 
 Go, where man's hand and wondrous skiU combined 
 Embalm the triumphs of the noblest mind ; 
 Go, where midst stately halls the festive throng 
 Thread the gay dance or raise the choral song; 
 Or go, where 'neath the mighty forest shade 
 The log-built cabin lifts its lowly head, 
 Alike 'neath lordly roof anci forest tree, 
 One mighty shout of joy shall welcome thee. 
 And when, returning to thy world-famed isle, 
 Again to meet a mother's joyous smile, " 
 Tell of that love that patriot bosom fills 
 On Western plains as well as Scottish hills ; 
 
AND OTHER POEUS. 
 
 23 
 
 Tell of those brawny arms that, trained to wield 
 The woodman's axe, shall grasp the warrior's shield, 
 To guard those rights that emanate from heaven, 
 And sire to son as holiest heritage has given. 
 Tell of those earnest prayers that heavenward rise, 
 Sweet as the incense of pure sacrifice, 
 To ask for her who wields a sceptre o'er 
 The varied sons of many a clime and shore, 
 Years many as those virtues that shall yield 
 More lasting praise than deeds on tented field. 
 And thou, Toved Prince, so live that when thy hand 
 ^ Shall hold the sceptre of our fatherland, 
 Thy life ma}^ meet the praise of mother s eyes 
 Bending upon thee from their native skies. 
 May time thy youthful blossomings unfold, 
 Yielding the increase of a hundred-fold ; 
 May mercy claim thee, and may tyrants fear, 
 Thy age to honor and thy name revere, 
 Till praise of thee be borne o'er land and sea, 
 And Albert Edward's name still live while time shall be. 
 
 1 
 
24 
 
 ZAVS OF CANADA 
 
 DOMINION DAY IDYLL. 
 
 Time was when man to man we stood in strife ; 
 
 Sword clashed on sword, crimsoned with ghastly 
 gore, 
 And orphans mourned, and widows wailed their dead. 
 While weeping earth strewed leaves her slaughtered 
 children o'er. 
 
 And old men joyed to tell where foe met foe ; 
 
 Where death or glory claimed the dauntless brave 
 And boyhood loved to list the stirring tale, 
 
 Or seek the grassy mound that marked the soldier's 
 grave. 
 
 Long years have passed and smoothed those furrows 
 down 
 That rugged hands once raised to hide the slain ; 
 But new we battle on a bloodless field, 
 
 And strive to build one mighty land from main to 
 main. 
 
 ■MaAfcv 
 
Our fathers built those monuments of stone, 
 
 To tell what France had lost and England won ; 
 
 Their children we- — let us a nobler raise, 
 
 Founded on land and sea, — the fairest 'neath the sun. 
 
 From Labrador to fair Vancouver's Isle, 
 From Erie's shore, far as the Arctic seas. 
 
 One banner's folds wave o'er Canadian homes, 
 
 One arm defends our rights and guards our liberties- 
 
 No broader streams than ours — no purer skies, — 
 No richer soil, to yield the yellow grain, — 
 
 No statelier trees to crown the mountain's brow, — 
 No richer golden robes to clothe the furrowed plain^ 
 
 The snarling wolf that prowls around the door. 
 Where squalid hunger dwells, we know not here ; 
 
 Our ready fields await but willing hands, 
 
 And he that toils in spring shall reap rich autumn's- 
 cheer. 
 
 Our seas — our boundless lakes — our crystal streams. 
 Each yields the ransom of a mighty king; 
 
 And countless argosies bear wealth away. 
 
 The luxuries of distant lands to homeward briiio- 
 
26 
 
 LAVS OF CANADA 
 
 Strong hands have we to sow our fertile plains, — ' 
 Strong arms to reap the grain, or delve the mine,- 
 
 To draw forth treasures from the yielding deep, 
 Or midst the forest shades to fell the costly pine." 
 
 Who till and reap the glebe can also fight ; 
 * The hand that guides the plough may train the gun ; 
 And arms that swins: the axe shall wield the sword. 
 To guard and keep our sacred gifts from sire to son. 
 
 'Tis sweet, in springtide hours, to sow the seed 
 That hope assures shall yield a hundred fold ; 
 
 'Tis sweet to drive your lowing herds afield. 
 
 Or glean the valued treasures of your bleating fold. 
 
 *Tis sweet, on summer morn, e'er dews have fled. 
 To pluck the luscious fruit from bush or tree ; 
 
 To breathe the fragrance of the opening flowers, ' 
 
 And list the " wood-notes-wild " of bird-life melody. 
 
 When Autumn paints the land with living gold, 
 When gorgeous hues adorn the maple leaves. 
 
 Our harvest sonars resound from hill to dale, 
 
 Our ample barns groan with the weight of teeming 
 sheaves. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 27 
 
 Has sport its charms ? A thousand streams invite 
 
 To ply the rod and line with "Walton " skill; 
 The soft winds sigh — fast leap the speckled Trout, 
 
 With glitt'ring gems, the angler's heart and creel to 
 
 fill. 
 
 •f. 
 
 Hid in the slimy depths of sedgy pool, ^ ^ 
 
 Watching his prey, the Maskilonge lies ; 
 
 While Lake St. John's broad waters woo us there, 
 With lure of far-famed Ouinaniche, a lordly prize. 
 
 Would'st thou meet foe more worthy of thy steel } 
 Go where the Cascapedia frets and boils; 
 
 Some " Salmo Salar," fresh from briny waves, 
 
 That missed a Princess' barb, may swell thy princely 
 spoils. 
 
 *Tis Spring! Sweet Spring ! and weary hearts are glad, 
 Once more the fragrance of the woods to greet ; 
 
 Age, joyous at the change, the sunbeam seeks, \ 
 
 And by the hawthorn tree the youthful lovers meet. 
 
 Hark ! the masked waterfall now bursts its chains, 
 As lower sink the fields of melting snow; 
 
 All nature wakes from winter's icy sleep, 
 
 And where swept biting hail, the south winds gently 
 blow. 
 
28 
 
 LAYS OF CANADA 
 
 And land and sea, alive with new-born life, 
 Their absent welcome back with open arms ; 
 
 The fields are clothed anew with glorious green, 
 
 And budding flower and tree display their rival 
 charms. 
 
 And if swift-whirring wings your fancy please, 
 A Sportsman*s Paradise awaits you here ; 
 
 Who gleans our game, regrets not Scottish hills. 
 
 Nor longs his skill once more to try on English mere. 
 
 Ah ! list the music of the whistling wings. 
 
 As westward sweeps the long-extended corps ; 
 
 Our own Outarde revisits well-known haunts, 
 
 And the loud quack rings out anew from sea to shore. 
 
 The Canvas-back a double zest affords, 
 And yields a dish to *' set before a king ; " 
 
 And where the north shore streams rush to the sea. 
 Here the rare Harlequin shoots past on rapid wing. 
 
 To Grondine's flats the Ibis yet returns ; 
 
 The snowy Goose loves well the sedgy shore ; 
 Loud booms the Bittern 'midst the clust'ring reeds. 
 
 And the famed Heron nests on pine top as of yore. 
 
HH 
 
 t 
 
 AND OTHER POEMS. 29 
 
 If shapely form and splendour charm the eye, 
 
 The graceful Wood Duck claims fair beauty's prize ; 
 
 No gorgeous plumes like his adorn the rest ; 
 
 No lovelier shades could feathers yield or sparkling 
 eyes. 
 
 The shady copse the wary Woodcock haunts ; 
 
 From Chateau Richer's swamps the Snipe upsprings ; 
 Ontario's fields know well the scurrying Quail, 
 
 And o'er the glassy lake the Loon's weird laughter 
 ring^s. 
 
 Afar 'midst forest glades, where Red Men lie ; 
 
 On mossy log the Ruffed Grouse strut and drum ; 
 The plump Tetrao courts the spruce tree's shade ; 
 
 And spotless Ptarmigan with boreal tempests come. 
 
 Resplendent thro' the grove the Turkey roams, 
 And lends a deeper grace to Christmas cheer ; 
 
 Our silvery lakes still claim the graceful Swan ; 
 
 And o'er the up'ands shrill the Plover's pipe we hear. 
 
 Or come, v/here far on rolling Western plains 
 Beneath the brushwood Sagefowl snugly lie; 
 
 And Prairie Hens rush boldly at the foe, 
 
 Their cow'ring brood to shield, as swoops the Falcon 
 
 by. 
 
A hunter thou ? The i^rim Bear courts thy skill, 
 And fearless roams ere yet he seeks his den ; 
 
 His glossy robes might grace triumphal car, — 
 
 His pearly spoils proclaim the rank of dusky men. 
 
 The Wolf, still tireless, tracks his victim's trail ; 
 
 1 he prowling Lynx, like sleuth-hound, wends his way; 
 And by the well-worn path the Carcajou 
 
 Drops, from his. hidden perch, upon th'unwary prey. 
 
 Sly Reynard follows where the startled Hare ' 
 Darts thro' the matted elders like a gleam ; 
 
 And the sleek Otter on his titbits dines. 
 
 Nor dreads the Hound's loud bark upon his lonely 
 
 stream. 
 
 '*"*.-'■ «■■' 
 
 I ." » 
 
 Far from men's haunts the Beaver builds his dam 
 And pond'rous mound, to keep him safe from harm ; 
 
 His larder filled with choicest winter stores, — 
 
 Cold winds may bite and blow, his lair is soft and 
 
 warm. 
 
 Thro' rushing chute and pool the Fisher swims; 
 
 And Mink and Martin sport right merrily ; 
 While overhead the angry Squirrel chides. 
 
 And warns the rude intruder from his nut-stored tree. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 3« 
 
 And when the maple trees are stripped and bare, — 
 When land and stream with snow are mantled o'er, — 
 
 When light toboggans down the mountains sweep, 
 And the bold skater skims the lake from shore to 
 shore, 
 
 * J % 
 
 *»i 
 
 Then don thy snowshoes, grasp thy rifle true; 
 
 The timid Red Deer thro' the forest bounds, — 
 The wary Caribou rests on the frozen lake, 
 
 And browse the mighty Moose upon their endless 
 rounds. 
 
 These all and more await the hunter's skill ; 
 
 Such trophies well our antlered halls adorn; 
 Their shining coats may win a golden prize, 
 
 Or keep us snug and warm amid the winter storm. 
 
 But yet, possessed of aught that hands could win, 
 Or all that pleasure puts within our ken, '- 
 
 We joy to know a nobler gift is ours, — •* 
 
 We own the heaven-sent heritage of freeborn men. 
 
 No tyrant will shall filch one right away, 
 
 Or break one tie that makes our land '' Sweet Home ;" 
 No nobler flag than ours floats o'er the free ; 
 
 No happier spot we gr«. 't, where'er our footsteps 
 roam. 
 
ZAVS OF CANADA 
 
 Prepared to guard those rights, we fear no foe ; 
 
 True patriot arms are freedom's strongest shields ; 
 No rebel hordes we brook within our bounds, 
 
 No hostile foot shall touch unscathed our peaceful 
 fields. 
 
 Cursed be the hand would sow rude discord here ! 
 
 Cursed be the heart would kindle hostile fires ! 
 One Queen — one home — one kindred tie we own, 
 
 And we will guard these well, as did our noble sires. 
 
 Joy ever be to him who lives to pour 
 
 On troubled, angry waves the peaceful oil ! 
 
 Joy to that man who loves to foster peace. 
 
 And deep the hatchet buries in the kindly soil! 
 
 Then, on this day, as brothers brethren meet, — 
 As mothers wish God-speed to gallant boy, — 
 
 Our fair Dominion we with gladness greet. 
 Till Halifax's cheer awakes Vancouver's joy ! 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 M 
 
 FREDERICK THE NOBLE. 
 
 Thy royal robes, unworn, lie on the throne; — 
 Thy jewelled sword awaits thy knightly hand ;- 
 
 Up, Kaiser! gird thy brows with diadem, 
 And grasp the sceptre of thy Fatherland. 
 
 That eye unquailed has met the flashing steel; — 
 That voice has risen above the battle's roar ; — 
 
 And Woerth's proud field a double chaplet wove, 
 
 Where France still mourns her mould'ring warriors 
 
 o er. 
 
 Enough ! thy battle flags are blazoned well ; — 
 Enough of trophies decorate thy breast ; — . 
 
 Fiercely thy eagles swooped upon their prey, 
 
 Sheathe then thy sword and bid thy soldiers rest 1 
 
 c 
 
 \ 
 
LAVS 01^ CANADA 
 
 Too long the reeking earth has drunk men's blood ; — 
 Yon charnel fields scarce hide the bleaching slain ;— 
 
 The ear's aweary with that ceaseless tramp, 
 
 While countless horsemen scour the quiv'ring plain. 
 
 As when the Great Redeemer came to earth, 
 
 When " Idle spear and shield were high uphung," 
 
 So bind the olive branch upon thy crest, 
 
 Bid carnage cease, und songs of peace be sung. 
 
 And say, " Our trumpets hang 'mid hunters' spoils ;"• 
 His neck, to peaceful yoke, the warhorse yields; — 
 
 Women learn woman-craft once more, — And joy ! 
 'Tis stalwart men that till and reap our fields. 
 
 Krupp's forges glow, but glow not now to weld 
 The pond'rous gun or mould the deadly shell ;- 
 
 And joyous voices, as the ploughshare rings 
 A merry " Anvil Chorus," heavenward swell. 
 
 And village youths and maids, when evening comes. 
 Now trip it lightly o'er the flowery sod, 
 
 While Rinckart's gentle spirit hovers near. 
 
 To raise the hymn, *' Now thank we all our God.* 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 35 
 
 And such vvould*st thou have said and done, but ah ! 
 
 Blind are we to that will that works on high ; — 
 Earth's worthless weeds outlive the fiercest storm, 
 
 While beauteous flowers but pine and droop and die. 
 
 Thou sleepest well. Oh ! God, can this be death ? 
 
 Cold is thy brow, and still the living tide. 
 Alas! thy winged day has closed in night; — 
 
 And sire and son now slumber side by side. 
 
 Yet brief altho' thy day, a halo bright 
 Of glory rests upon thy honored name, 
 
 And " Unser Fritz," while still the Rhine shall flow. 
 Must claim a tear and fill th'^ trump of fame. 
 
 And while thy form shall crown the hallowed spot, 
 Where shot and shell and sabre swept the field, 
 
 Yet o'er thy people's hearts, while hearts shall beat, 
 A deathless reign thy countless virtues yield. 
 
 When thund'ring broadsides drown the tempest's 
 roar ; — 
 
 When furious squadrons shout their battle cry ; — 
 And rings the charge above the battle's din ; — 
 
 'Tis sweet for hearth and home to strike or die. 
 
 n 
 
36 
 
 LAVS OF CANADA 
 
 But when remorseless fate, with deadly aim, 
 
 Has sped the shaft that soon must lay thee low ;- 
 
 And beauty fades, and manhood's glories die, 
 'Tis hard to kiss the hand that deals the blow. 
 
 And yet such kiss was thine when sorrow came. 
 And Hope fled weeping that her task was done. 
 
 No shadow backward o'er thy dial crept, 
 
 While all around bewailed thy setting sun ; — 
 
 All save thyself. No plaint escaped thy lips ; — 
 
 Meek was thy prayer, — "Thy servant Frederick 
 waits," — 
 
 Nor glittering gold, nor empire's garish sheen 
 Could hide the glory of the pearly gates. 
 
 Tho' woman's deathless love adorned thy home ; — 
 Tho' round thy couch thy children watched and 
 wept; 
 
 And millions waited at each morning's dawn, 
 Toaskif he they loved still lived or slept. 
 
 Yet vain was all, and vain man's highest skill. 
 
 Nearer its goal death spurred with quickening pace, 
 
 Nor rank, nor gold, nor power, could stand between, 
 Or snatch even Kaiser from his cold embrace. 
 
 t 
 
AND OTHER POEMS, 
 
 37 
 
 Thou sleepest well ! for well thy work was doVie ; — 
 Thy country boasts no prouder name than thine ;• 
 
 Name that shall live in cot and princely hall, 
 
 While yet the watchfires light the German Rhine. 
 
 Lady, weep not, — thy faithful watch is o'er ; 
 
 Still duty calls, but calls to other field ; 
 Leave here thy dead, his ashes sleep in peace, 
 
 Whom hearts encircle with a living shield. 
 
 Leave here thy dead, but midst those flowers that spend 
 Their perfume sweet around his slumb'ringclay, 
 
 Lay thou that heather sprig that breathed fond hopes 
 Ere yet the lips had framed what love should say, — 
 
 Love that awoke response within thy breast. 
 Sweet as the melrose to the wand'ring bee, 
 
 And faithful to the close, as when first pledged, 
 Amidst the murmurs of the crystal Dee. 
 
 Nor was that love for earth alone; but when 
 
 Earth's crumbling kings and kingdoms pass away, 
 
 And life devoid of pain, or care, or fear. 
 Shall animate this now but mortal clay, 
 
38 
 
 ZAVS OF CANADA 
 
 Then faith will yield those scenes we now but dream, 
 When deathless life may to God's sons be given, 
 
 And where the God of love shall dwell, our love 
 Will burn with yet a deeper glow in heaven. 
 
 Who trust as children trust, and while on earth 
 
 Both strive and pray to bring God's blessing down, 
 
 When dust shall wake to life, will claim from Him 
 Who wore the crown of thorns a heavenly crown. 
 
 Kaiser, farewell! we know thy name shall live 
 In countless hearts, ev'n while time's ages run; 
 
 And when the Judgment morning breaks, thy Lord 
 Shall greet thee as a son, " Well done ! Well done ! " 
 
 
 ' — I i , < . ' ■ f' 
 
Extract from the Log of J. D. Gilmour's Yacht 
 " Muriel," homeward bound from Trinity Bay, 
 
 July, 1887. 
 
 FAREWELL TO TRINITY 
 
 Farewell to Trinity, — a long farewell ! 
 
 We may not soon forget thy many charms ; — 
 For myriad pests have deep engraved thy name, 
 
 From head to heel, on front, and rear, and arms. 
 
 Farewell to Trinity, — and as a smile 
 
 Plays o'er thy waters as we heave this sigh, 
 
 We'll heave our anchor with responsive jest, 
 And drown our grumbles in a bright good-by. 
 
 Nor would we part, good Trinity, in strife; 
 
 You dealt us wounds, and we have gleaned some joys 
 The well-mixed cup we drain to very dregs ; 
 
 If nectar pure we sip, it ever cloys. 
 
40 
 
 LAYS OF CANADA 
 
 
 And when the breeze, that fills the Muriel's sails, 
 Shall bear us hence, and leave thee on the lee, 
 
 And other scenes shall claim our hands and brains, 
 We still will harbor pleasing thoughts of thee. 
 
 'i 
 
 When Boreal winds come howling round our door ; 
 
 When maple faggots blaze right merrily ; 
 And toasted slippers warm both heart and soles. 
 
 And children frolic round with mirth and glee, 
 
 And climb around the father's easy chair, 
 With youthful wit and winning infant smile, 
 
 To claim the boon that's never asked in vain — 
 The old man's tales that wintry hours beguile. 
 
 '' Our swift toboggans now must rest till morn ; 
 
 The ringing steel has ceased its merry tune ; 
 Our weary snowshoes hang upon the wall, 
 
 And curly heads must press the eider soon. 
 
 Then come, dear father, ere we say ' Good-night,* — 
 And tell how herons fell, — how hawks were flown ; 
 
 Why Reynard's brush was deemed a noble prize. 
 How staghounds pulled the lordly red-deer down.'' 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 4^ 
 
 And then we'll tell of Scottish lake and stream, 
 Where first we learned the gentle art to ply ; 
 
 Where o*er the dizzy crags the eagles scream, 
 And mid eternal snow the struck game die. 
 
 But should the '* Chestnut Bells" a warning give, 
 That tiny ears have heard those tales before, 
 
 Then drop we, with good grace, our boyhood days, 
 To hail, good Trinity, thy genial shore. 
 
 And Gilmour, once again, shall prove his skill, 
 To win fresh trophies from the yielding stream, 
 
 His *' Doctor's" fast ! On tears the noble fish. 
 Till David lands him like a lightning gleam. 
 
 Macnaughton's tireless rod now ceaseless plays 
 O'er every spot where lurks the finny prize. 
 
 Whirr! goes the reel. It strains the quiv'ring line, 
 Then turns upon its side and gasping dies. 
 
 I 
 
 Mighty in form and deed, the stalwart Fitch, 
 For peaceful gaff, his dripping sword has given ; 
 
 His matchless spoils adorn our rustic walls, 
 
 His toothsome chowders scent both earth and heaven. 
 
And genial Hamilton, when ev'ning comes, 
 
 When Gideon trims each lamp with cunning hand, 
 
 And joke and laughter claim the festive hour, 
 He, " facile princeps," alone shall stand. 
 
 " And you ? " you slily ask. The modest Scot 
 Scarce airs his virtues in the midday sun ; 
 
 T'et brass may shine like burnished gold, — and I,- 
 I filled my creel with fish, — our hut with fun. 
 
 And should they meet those lines who taught me there 
 The winning card ; pray, let no laughter ring ; — 
 
 Mistakes were mine ; yet many do as I, 
 
 And play the knave, when they should play the king. 
 
 But, ah ! why dream of days that- ne'er may dawn } 
 Why weave a legend we may never tell ? 
 
 ©ut, hark ! our guns ring out a loud good-by ; 
 " Steady ! North West ! " Good Trinity, farewell. 
 
 4 ' 
 
 I 'K 
 
ODE.— THE DISAPPOINTMENTS OF HOPE. 
 
 Eccles. ix. II: '* The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the 
 
 strong 
 
 jj 
 
 Warrior! in vain thy mail— the shepherd's sling 
 May lay thee low upon the blood-stained sod ; 
 
 Or arrow, sped from random bow, may bring 
 
 Thro' armour joints, dread message from thy God. 
 
 Swift as an Asahel, or startled roe, 
 
 The goal may gleam before thy straining eyes— 
 But gleam in vain, spoils deck less gifted foe, 
 
 And other head than thine shall wear the prize. 
 
 To Baal, five hundred prophets bent the knee, 
 From morn to eve, and yet no answer came; 
 
 Elijah, all alone, prays Heaven, and see ! 
 
 Heaven's fires down come, and comes the needed 
 rain. 
 
 1 
 
wmm 
 
 44 
 
 LAYS OF CANADA 
 
 Far o'er a conquered world Rome's eagles flew, 
 Nor saw one neck unbent beneath her tread. 
 
 Christ's sons marched forth — unarmed — yea — two by 
 two — 
 Her legions passed — and Rome lay with the dead. 
 
 Would'st thou have manly grace ? To-day this steals 
 A nation's heart, to fade ere setting sun ; 
 
 And, ah ! for him, how many a mourner feels 
 Who wailed — " O Absolom, my son. my son ! " 
 
 Has wisdom charms ? Let wisest monarch tell 
 Of loftiest temple reared — of purest fane — 
 
 And noblest shrine, where God was pleased to dwell; 
 And yet he mourned — "All human things are vain.'> 
 
 And what of love ! Ah ! Mariamne, thou 
 And more have won a sceptre and a tomb. 
 
 Thy Herod worships at thy foot-stool now — 
 Now, sated with thy charms, he seals thy doom. 
 
 The noblest diadem that rank could bring, 
 And empire's boundless sway await thee soon. 
 
 Alas ! low lies thy head, for here death's king, 
 And nations mingle tears around thy tomb. 
 
l 
 
 Thy gold speeds homeward from a hundred shores, 
 And all that wealth can give is thine to-day ; 
 
 But, hark ! the billows rise— the tempest roars, 
 And all, save beggars' rags, is swept away. 
 
 • - ■ 
 
 Adorned with every grace that genius flings 
 Around her sons— Fool! bread is yet to gain ; 
 
 Some worm may yet outstrip thy dazzling wings, 
 To seize the food thy nestlings crave in vain. 
 
 Yet, tho' earth's choicest gifts have often failed, 
 For noblest brows, to win the highest prize ; 
 
 And Hope, like smiling morn, our boyhood hailed. 
 To cower, ere even came, 'neath wintry skies ; 
 
 Still he that fights with weapons God has given 
 Shall conqu'ror prove o'er each besetting stain ; 
 
 And he that runs the race, from earth to heaven. 
 The crown shall win— the victory shall gain. 
 
■« 
 
 a 
 
 46 
 
 LAYS 01' CANADA 
 
 \- 
 
 FISHING SONG. 
 
 Written at Trinity Bay, July, 1887. 
 
 When I was a fisher o' troot, 
 I aye got alang fairly weel ; 
 
 But noo, since for salmon Fm oot, 
 Fint a fin will ye find in my creel. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Sae hey for the rod and the reel, 
 
 That charm half life's troubles away, 
 And hey for the leal-hearted chiel 
 
 That lives baith to work and to play. 
 
 Sae sang I but only yestreen, 
 
 Wi' a grane like a grizzly bear, 
 
 But fortune has gien me a gleam 
 O' sunshine to lighten my care. 
 
 i 
 
 t 
 
AND OTHER POEMS, 
 
 4r 
 
 } 
 
 CHORUS. 
 Sae hey for the rod and the reel, etc. 
 
 My ** Fairy " had scarce reached its flight, 
 When my pirn went aspinnin' wi' glee, 
 
 And my gaffer, half crazed vvi' delight, 
 Laid a beauty o' twelve on the lea. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 Sae hey for the rod and the reel, etc. 
 
 My auld basket I'll fling in the flames, 
 
 I'd fling it altho' it were new, 
 For it wadna haud ane o' the gems 
 
 That lie in my bonnie canoe. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Sae hey for the rod and the reel, etc.. 
 
 ■ 
 
 
48 
 
 LAVS OF CANADA 
 
 TO AN APPLE TREE BLOSSOMING IN 
 
 OCTOBER. 
 
 Fair apple tree ! 
 Why flaunt your blossoms here, 
 When leaves — now dead and sere — 
 
 Lie on the lea ? 
 
 Sweet apple tree ! 
 Too late those petals spread, 
 For summer warmth has fled 
 
 .From land and sea. 
 
 Oh ! foolish tree ! 
 The germs that springtide moulds, 
 Alone shall yield those folds 
 
 That hundreds be. 
 
 But, kindred tree! 
 Ev'n man, with reason's power. 
 Forgets the short-lived hour 
 That soon must flee, 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 49 
 
 And wantonly 
 Leaves fields untilled in springs 
 That no return will bring, 
 While time may be. 
 
 For th*aImond tree 
 Fast spreads its wintry bloom. 
 Precursor of the tomb, 
 
 Where all shall be. 
 
 Who toil can dree, 
 When spring its garlands weaves,. 
 Shall bring his golden sheaves 
 
 All home with glee. 
 
50 
 
 ZAVS OF CANADA 
 
 HYMN. 
 
 St. John viii. 2 : " Go, and sin no more." 
 
 Continuously down pour 
 My burning tears, while I 
 Still wait for Christ's reply, 
 
 " Sinner, go, sin no more." 
 
 Robes, deemed all pure, I wore, 
 
 But yet besetting sin 
 
 Sprung from the heart within 
 To make me sin the more. 
 
 Fain would I probe each sore, 
 But yet no healing came ; 
 Wounds still unclosed remain, 
 
 While I but sin the more. 
 
 Faith shall to us restore 
 A love that shall endure. 
 But ah ! What heart is pure t 
 
 What heart here sins no more } 
 
He who our burden bore, 
 He only can replace 
 What sin did once deface, 
 
 And bid men sin no more. 
 
 Oh ! spread thy bright robes o'er 
 This heart, where earthly stain, 
 While time is, must remain, 
 
 Till I shall sin no more. 
 
 And when we reach heaven's shore, 
 Pure as the angels there. 
 And free from guile and care, 
 
 We sin shall nevermore. 
 
 'Of 
 
THE WELL OF BETHLEHEM. 
 
 II. Samuel xxiii. 15: "Oh that one would give me drink of the water 
 
 of the well of Bethlehem ! " 
 
 Red rose the sun o'er Judah's hills ; 
 
 Red glowed the lurid sky ; 
 And, as the hart for cooling rills, 
 
 So mailed warriors sigh. 
 
 Not youths sent from their mothers' side, 
 To flesh their maiden sword, 
 
 But veterans grim who long defied 
 The foes of Israel's Lord. 
 
 And he, the first in rank and fame, 
 
 Good Jesse's warlike son, 
 Who, when brave Saul had thousands slain, 
 
 Ten thousand triumphs won , 
 
 [ 
 
Like hunted partridge that the snare 
 
 Of fowler gives no rest ; 
 Or outcast bent with carking care, 
 
 And ceaseless fears oppressed, 
 
 So David longs as when we tell 
 
 To mother's ear each sigh, — 
 " Oh for one draught of Bethlehem's well I 
 
 Enough to drink and die ! " 
 
 Three of the bravest of his band 
 Had heard their Chief's complaint. 
 
 Heard but to act, — then sword in hand, 
 Like lions forth they went. 
 
 The foe lie round on every side ; 
 
 Their tents their thousands tell, 
 And woe to him shall sure betide, 
 
 Who seeks fair Bethlehem's well. 
 
 The foe lie round, but as ripe grain 
 
 Prone falls, by sickle reaped, 
 So glean their crimsoned swords the slain, 
 
 Till high the dead are heaped. 
 
J 
 
 54 
 
 LAVS OF CANADA 
 
 Back come the three, and back they bring, 
 
 ■ ■ • • • » ' 
 
 As trophy of the fight, 
 A gen'rous draught, — while plaudits ring 
 
 To greet these men of might. 
 
 As blush o'erspreads the maiden's cheek, 
 
 Or teardrop dim^ her eye, 
 When knightly deed would humbly seek 
 
 To wake her praise or sigh, 
 
 So glows the youthful leader's face, — 
 Strange thoughts his bosom swell. 
 
 As in his fevered hands they place 
 That draught from Bethlehem's well. 
 
 Once more his father's flock he tends 
 And plies his shepherd's sling 
 
 With hand that bear or lion rends, 
 Or strikes the harp's loud string. 
 
 Low sinks the sun behind the hill, 
 
 Soft sleeps the silent fold : 
 In dreams he quaffs fair Bethlehem's rill, 
 
 More prized than shining gold. . 
 
4 
 
 AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 But these were days ere martial fame 
 Had spurred his boyish pride ; 
 
 Ere singing maidens blazed his name 
 Who ruled the battle's tide. 
 
 Oh ! these were days ere princely halls 
 Their doors had open flung 
 
 To him whose deeds, along with Saul's, 
 A thousands voices sunsr. 
 
 Nor dark intrigue, nor courtly care, 
 Had touched that youthful brow 
 
 With broils that drove him forth to lair 
 In wood or cave, as now. 
 
 And as the water-cruse he took, 
 That brave men to him bore. 
 
 His spear became the shepherd's crook. 
 Himself a boy once more. 
 
 55 
 
 And clouds that come like stormy night, 
 
 As morning mists roll by, 
 Till gruesome thoughts dissolve in light, 
 
 And hearts with hope beat high. 
 
 V 
 
56 
 
 LAYS Of CANADA 
 
 Hope, born of faith the He who gave 
 
 His arm its strength and might 
 To work brave deeds, from toils would save. 
 
 And give his own their right. 
 
 High overhead the fierce sun shone. 
 The tempting draught was near, 
 
 But weakly longings past had gone, — 
 Passed fainting heart or fear. 
 
 And changed again became the scene. 
 
 As bright a sceptre rose, 
 Mid power and sway and princely sheen, 
 
 And death to Israel's foes. 
 
 And Jesse's son shall sceptre wield ; 
 
 The shepherd wear the crown ; 
 When Saul shall lie on bloody field. 
 
 By foemen stricken down. 
 
 And David's voice rose clear and high, 
 O'er rock, and hill, and fen, — 
 
 "Great God, forbid that drink should I 
 The blood of valiant men." 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 57 
 
 Down flows that draught like crystal stream, 
 
 Down to the thirsty sod ; 
 While parched lips with praises teem 
 
 And pay their vows to God. 
 
 Ah ! had each future hour of life 
 
 Been pure as on that day, 
 His reign had known no troublous strife,- 
 
 Unlisped the scoffers' say. 
 
 And he who Zion's harp had strung, 
 
 To aid his heavenly song, 
 Through ages all his praise had rung, 
 
 Unstained by blame or wrong. 
 
 Speak kindly then if wrongs were done, 
 Nor gloat o'er faults to dwell ; — 
 
 But genVous be as Jesse's son, 
 And think of Bethlehem's well. 
 
58 
 
 LAVS OF CANADA 
 
 HYMN. 
 
 1st Cor. xiii. 12 : " For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then 
 
 face to face." 
 
 Dark were the night, were there no light 
 
 The wand'ring step to cheer, 
 And lone the stream without a gleam, 
 
 To tell the course to steer. 
 
 But darker far, had we no star 
 To woo the doubting heart 
 
 To wend its way, where wisdom's ray 
 Can heavenly lore impart. 
 
 And praise to Him, who o'er the dim 
 
 Dark waters gave command, 
 For night's sweet calm, and morning's dawn, 
 
 And light o'er sea and land. 
 
And praise as well, that while we dwell 
 Where troubles shade the soul, 
 
 Yet healing streams and cloudless beams 
 Speed on from pole to pole. 
 
 'Tis true we know that here below 
 Some spots still cloud earth's sun ; 
 
 Nor can we pray each weight away, 
 While Christian race we run. 
 
 Our darkest night may blaze in light, 
 Our gold may prove but brass ; 
 
 Nor can we know life's ebb or flow 
 Who see as through a glass. 
 
 But when our feet the golden street 
 Shall tread, no earthly stain 
 
 To souls shall cling where angels sing, 
 And saints join in the strain. 
 
 And when we climb to heaven sublime^ 
 Away time's shades then flee ; 
 
 For grown in grace as face to face, 
 The dread " ! Am " we see. 
 
L 
 
 •60 
 
 LAVS OF CANADA 
 
 God grant us then, frail sons of men, 
 
 A firmer, purer trust, 
 That we may wear our white robes there 
 
 When life's re-wed to dust. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 6 1. 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 To President Harrison, ist April, 1890. 
 
 Dear President, it grieves me sore 
 To think that, for a year and more. 
 Just ham and eggs, tho' that galore, 
 
 Has been your dish, 
 To sink to hunger's gnawing sore, 
 
 Without one fish. 
 
 But after all, it may be true 
 
 That, as you sport the old Kirk blue. 
 
 You do not care one single sou 
 
 For Friday grub, 
 Except for, say, an oyster stew 
 
 The flesh to snub. 
 
 Vivendi modus we have tried ; — 
 On treaties, old and new, reKed ; — 
 Bold Sailors swore, suave Statesmen lied,. 
 
 And Lawyers jigged. 
 While honest Hayseed simply sighed, — 
 
 Yet bait was prigged. 
 
62 
 
 LAYS OFCANADA 
 
 But let me quote the " Golden Rule " 
 Your teacher taught in Sunday School, 
 Or should have taught to Wit or Fool : — 
 
 "Tho* scant your meal, 
 And thin your garb thro' want and doole. 
 
 Thou shalt not steal." 
 
 Tho' seals on far Alaska's shore. 
 Or herrings packed round Labrador, 
 Would fill the purse, and give men store 
 
 Of shining tin, 
 Yet " covet not " was wont of yore 
 
 To guard from sin. 
 
 But come, let's " heel " the hounds of war ! 
 Unhitch the steeds from "Glory's Car!" 
 To prune with spears is sweeter far 
 
 Than shot and shell, — 
 And, go ! teach those who brethren are, 
 
 In peace to dwell. 
 
 'Tis first of April morn I know. 
 
 But heart and fin together go ; — 
 
 So, here's to brimming friendship's flow, 
 
 On brine or sod ; 
 Friend Tupper ! hand your creel just so, 
 
 And give the C.O.D. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 6^ 
 
 IN MEMORIAM. 
 
 JOHN ROSS, ESQ. 
 
 Died at Kirkvilla, Cacouna, P.Q., loth Sept., 1887. 
 
 Rom. xii. 2 : ^' Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving tiie 
 
 Lord." 
 
 Mourn not — his work was done ; 
 
 Forbid those falling tears ; 
 Nobly his race was run, 
 
 Through days and months and years. 
 
 Not his, on glory's car, 
 
 The victor's palm to wear, 
 Or slip the hounds of war. 
 
 To work death's carnage there. 
 
 For him it were no charm 
 
 On gory deck to stand, 
 And smile to wield an arm 
 
 Might rival Azrail's brand. 
 
 -f 
 
Reproved, if men would do, 
 As they might wish were done, 
 
 Then all were leal and true 
 And great beneath the sun. 
 
 Gold came— he freely gave, 
 
 To drive want's wolves away. 
 Gold went— the steward prayed, 
 Thy will be done alway." 
 
 (C 
 
 His faith might not deceive 
 With boast o'er death, o'er grief; 
 
 His— only, *' I believe; 
 Lord, help mine unbelief." 
 
 And should doubt cloud our skies, 
 While hope's unseen— not sight. 
 
 We know a light shall rise 
 To chase away dark night. 
 
 We faintly know the past ; 
 
 The future's ail unknown ; 
 And we may stem the blast, 
 
 Or fade as flower, half-blown. 
 
AND OTHER FORMS. 
 
 6S 
 
 But why, we cannot tell ; 
 
 'Tis God's to take or give, 
 And we should know 'tis well 
 For us to die or live. 
 
 Then mourn no more for him, 
 We yet shall meet again, 
 
 And though our eyes be dim, 
 Our hearts still breathe Amen. 
 
 E 
 
66 
 
 LAVS OF CANADA 
 
 QUEBEC'S BURDENS. 
 
 The great Quebec landslide occurred on the evening of the 19th Sep- 
 tember, 1889, About forty-five persons perished on the occasion. One 
 old man, after no hours of painful imprisonment, was rescued only to 
 bewail piteously the apathy that had left him so long a prisoner ; was 
 rescued only to die ; while infants were removed uninjured from the breasts 
 of mothers, now cold and still in death. The writer of Quebec's Burdens 
 heard the story of the disaster on the spot, while the bodies of the dead 
 were being found and removed. The narrator was now alone in the world ; 
 wife, children and all were fjone. The scene of utter desolation, the 
 ■dismal work of anxious and painful search, the sorrowing crowd waiting 
 for another eviaence of the terrible tragedy, and the choking voice and 
 haggard looks of that lonely man, made an impression that will not soon 
 be forgotten. God grant that this part of Quebec's history may never 
 again be repeated. 
 
 Go ! count my dead, nor ask why grief is mine, — 
 Half mast each pennon droops, as if it knew 
 
 Why floods of tears now scald the pallid cheek. 
 
 Or felt the jagged sword that pierced my bosom 
 through. 
 
Thro' the dim vista of long parted years, 
 Rama ! I press thine, with a sister's hand ; 
 
 Thou too didst weep, nor wouldst thou bate one tear, 
 While Rachel mourned o'er babes slain by a tyrant's 
 brand. 
 
 Gaze from those heights, across earth's noblest stream. 
 Where countless sails speed o'er its furrowed breast, 
 
 But not for me ; — and argosies pass by. 
 
 To yield their wealth of tribute to the golden West. 
 
 There navies poured forth thousands on my shores, 
 To spend their gold or ploughshares on my soil ; — 
 
 These all now hurry by, as if they saw 
 
 But barren fields, where slaves or loathsome lepers 
 toil. 
 
 Pass thro' those streets where commerce built her home, 
 Now calm and still — here maidens count their beads ; 
 
 The erewhile teeming storehouse crumbles down ; 
 Decay ascends her throne, and broadcast sows her 
 weeds. 
 
68 
 
 LAVS OJ^ CANADA 
 
 Pass thro' those streets, and mark the ashes there, 
 As if its showers some dire volcano sent ; — 
 
 And as you go, tread softly as you may, 
 
 For human dust is there with crumbling ruins blent. 
 
 Strong men are sobbing now that nevermore 
 
 Shall press those lips that death itself has kissed, 
 
 And women wail above the bloody biers 
 
 Of stricken ones, whose hands and hearts shall long 
 be missed. 
 
 Lift that sweet babe from off its mother's breast, — 
 The warmth that nursed its tender life has fled; 
 
 And feed those little mouths that " lack their food," 
 Who watched this morn o'er them, now slumber with 
 the dead. 
 
 Great God ! and can it be that some may lie 
 Beneath those walls that form a living tomb ; — 
 
 That strength shall wane ; — and feebler, day by day. 
 Shall strong men grow, till comes at last the mid- 
 night gloom ? 
 
Ah ! Why should boast or pride thrill lip or heart ? 
 
 What love we most, the deadliest wound has given, — 
 '* Is not this Babylon, that I have built ? " 
 
 He said, — and fell, alike from throne and reason 
 driven ! 
 
 Proud of that noble rock whose form might fling 
 
 Defiance back upon a world in arms, 
 I smiled to think what foe might breach those heights, — 
 
 What city's proudest walk could match my Terrace- 
 charms, 
 
 Vain thought 1 for as the avalanche sweeps down 
 From Alpine hills to work death's work around, 
 
 So fell the idol that I loved so well, 
 
 And hearts and homes lie crushed beneath the mighty 
 mound. 
 
 Had duty called, this hand had armed my sons, 
 To win or die, as men, on honour's field, 
 
 Without one sigh, for Spartan mothers smiled 
 
 Ev'n while their slain passed homeward on their 
 blood-stained shield. 
 
7© 
 
 LAVS OF CANADA 
 
 But oh ! how deep the pang, when traitor hearts 
 Betray the trust that kindred claims bestow, — 
 
 Well might proud Caesar seek his mantle's folds, 
 
 When friendly Brutus' hand could deal the dagger's 
 blow. ^ 
 
 Nay! let no cannon's boom proclaim my grief, 
 The yawning earth another host might claim ; 
 
 Soft music's numbers better hide the wail 
 
 That tells our children's sorrows and our country's 
 shame. 
 
 We joy to mark the ears of bending grain, 
 That day by day assume the golden blade, 
 
 ''Till ripe for harvest," now the gath'rers come, 
 
 And in the garner safe the ripened sheaves are laid. 
 
 But, ah ! the reaper's hand failed here to wait, 
 And green and yellow fields alike went down ; — 
 
 Fair downy cheeks lie pressed on cruel earth. 
 
 And, side by side with these, lies low the hoary 
 crown. 
 
 
A ND O THER POEMS, 
 
 7« 
 
 The plumes go by, midst peals of fun'ral chimes ; 
 
 Our sobbing thousands crowd the gloomy streets ;• 
 Still lower droops that flag upon th^ mast, — 
 
 And Stadacona now, like Niobe, but weeps. 
 
 • . ^' 
 
 - 
 
IN MEMORIAM. 
 
 MA JOE SHOET. 
 
 Died in the performance of duty, at the St. Sauveur fire, Quebec, l6th 
 
 May, 1889.) 
 
 Died, as a soldier should ! 
 
 When duty gave command ; — 
 Altho' thy guns were mute, — 
 
 No sabre in thy hand. 
 
 Oft had the leaden hail 
 
 Around thy squadron swept ; 
 Oft had the dusky foe 
 
 Around thy tent-couch crept. 
 
 The fire-fiend spread its wings, 
 As if earth's doom was near, 
 
 But thine was, and we mourn 
 
 Around thy blood-stained bier. 
 
No manlier form than thine, 
 Where rose the battle cry ; 
 
 Than thine, no braver heart, 
 
 For Crown and Queen to die. 
 
 They'll miss theo. should a foot 
 E'er tcuch, in strife, our soil. 
 
 They'll miss thee, when our hands 
 Relax from sterner toil. 
 
 They'll miss that art that erst 
 
 Could o'er our heart-strings sweep ; 
 
 But ah ! they'll miss thee most 
 
 Where loved ones wail and weep. 
 
 Vain may the bugle call, — 
 
 Short wrikes not at its blast 
 
 Vain may thy charger wait, — 
 Short's last parade is past 
 
 Sleep well ! thy land shall guard 
 Where'er thy ashes lie, 
 
 And mothers tell their sons 
 How nobly thou didst die. 
 
f- 
 
 74 
 
 ZAVS OF CANADA 
 
 THE ARCTIC OWL; 
 
 OR, 
 
 A NATURALIST'S DREAM. 
 
 Dedicated to James M. LeMoine, Esq., Spencer Grange, Quebec, and 
 Thomas McII wraith, Esq., Cairnbrae, Hamilton, Ont. 
 
 ' What! from the icy Pole? Now draw it mild; 
 
 And on plain travellers, pray, play no tricks. 
 I feel as haughty as Minerva's self, 
 
 And if you ruffle me, as cross as twice two sticks." 
 
 "Just in by special," and his owlship winked ; 
 
 " 'Twas somewhat slow, and took a good few hours, 
 om those ' high latitudes ' that Dufferin knew, 
 Till I could rest my pinions in Canadian bowers. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 75 
 
 " But then I dropped in at a Station North, 
 
 To pay a visit to a friendly Auk ; 
 Some time was lost, but what's that to an owl 
 
 Who longs to see his friends, and have a social talk ? 
 
 " Perhaps, tho', you may think it somewhatstrange 
 To hear my speech, but let that wonder pass ; — 
 
 Some human owls speak too, and why not I, 
 
 When words of wisdom came so glib from Balaam's 
 ass ? " 
 
 And then he talked of strange things — new and old — 
 Of Greenland's snowy p^ins, and ice-ribbed shore; 
 
 Of mighty Pachyderms that once roamed there, 
 
 And of their pond'rous bones that now lie bleached 
 and hoar. 
 
 " Ah ! could you see those placid seas that bathe 
 The Sphinx-like Pole, and bright as mirror gleam 
 
 Thro' the long Arctic night, while stars shine down, 
 Till like a double sky their twinkling shadows seem. 
 
 ■I 
 
/ 
 
 « ' No sound then breaks the awful stillness there; — 
 The ear the throbbings of the heart might sum ; — 
 Life plants no footstep on those silent shores ; — 
 Time there seems past — eternity *s long morn has 
 come. 
 
 " Sweet Arctic night ! that owls alone enjoy, 
 
 When human hearts beat cold, and lone and sad ; 
 
 When bears reluctant leave their icy den, 
 
 And canines whine for sun-lit homes, and then go 
 mad. 
 
 " Now bursts the light upon some spring-tide morn ; 
 
 Higher and higher climbs the orb of day ; 
 The curtain rises from the w^ak'ning earth, 
 
 And the huge iceberg breaks its bonds and floats 
 away. 
 
 " Hark ! the loud thunder of the mighty whale ; 
 
 The walrus sports, like lambkin on the lea ; 
 P'earless the seal basks on his rocky isle, 
 
 Nor dreads a human foe within that tranquil sea. 
 
 r 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 77 
 
 " Tranquil — but for the rushing wings that bring, 
 From sunnier climes, a bright and joyous throng ; 
 
 The cav'rn'd rock flings back the sea gull's scream, 
 While hill and dale ring with the warblers' nuptial 
 
 song. 
 
 " Nor wings alone bring visitants from far, 
 
 As wheel fresh squadrons from the trackless sky ; 
 
 The shaggy musk-ox o'er the meadow roams, 
 
 And wary reindeer browse where lowly lichens lie. 
 
 * And those cold waves that once kissed torrid shores 
 Their trophies northward bear with favouring breeze , 
 
 And the tall pine that graced some southern hill 
 
 Now lies, all chafed and worn, on sands of polar seas. 
 
 "Seas — where the paddle's stroke has never stirred 
 The mimic wave to tuneful melody ; 
 
 Unknown the spreading sail and bending oar ; 
 And eye of man has never gazed upon that sea. 
 
 " No living eye — for mark yon battered wreck. 
 That sparless, cordless, floats like phantom by ! 
 
 Want-wasted forms crouch on its mouldy deck, 
 
 And glaring, sightless orbs stare upwards to the sky. 
 
?« 
 
 LAYS OF CANADA 
 
 * . . . 
 
 *^ Onwards his helpless prey the ice-fiend bore, 
 And trebly locked them in their frozen cell, 
 
 Till biting cold and gnawing hunger told 
 
 A tale of want and woe no human tongue may tell. 
 
 ^* And wives will wait to welcome husbands home; — 
 And long in mothers' hearts hope's lamp will burn ; — 
 
 And maidens sigh to press the plighted hand, 
 
 But, ah ! these shrivelled forms will never more return. 
 
 ^'And wind and tide will steer that creaking helm, 
 Till the worn keel rests still on ocean bed, 
 
 But the loved port that crew will never hail 
 
 Till He shall give command, * Yield up thy hidden 
 dead!' 
 
 *' But ':)ray excuse what Lachrymarys fill; 
 
 My nicitator is a better plan ; 
 And we may weep or whistle on the brakes ; 
 
 Strange that an owl in aught should beat the nobler 
 man ! 
 
 ^* But, to the point ; I fear I've wandered far 
 And left unspoken what yet brought me here; 
 
 Please think not, if our latitude exceeds 
 The * eighties," that we have no daily ' Gazetteer.' 
 
AND OTHER POEMS, 
 
 79 
 
 " But why, or how, we know it matters not. 
 
 All things of sublunary strain beguile 
 An owl's lone hours, and little birds may tell 
 
 Your own Canadian tales on far Jan Meyen's Isle. 
 
 *' And so it came to pass that whispers said 
 
 That Cairnbrae, famed Spencer Grange and you 
 
 Had won your spurs, but here I mean no joke. 
 But speak as if I'd graduated at the ' Zoo.' 
 
 "And thus, in conclave grave of learned owls, 
 
 The Strix Cinerea and Nyctia swore, 
 And all the rest gave out responsive hoots. 
 
 That these thrice-honoured names be added to our 
 corps. 
 
 " Adopted by our tribe without one nay, 
 
 Pray, here accept this decorated scroll. 
 And Dr. Stewart's facile pen will give 
 
 To wondring ears its tale, when I am at the Pole." 
 
 I woke, — the dream was past ; nor mystic scroll, 
 Nor Arctic Owl, my blinking eyes could see ; — 
 
 But all was phonographed on mem'ry's page. 
 And I to others tell what then was told to me. 
 
8o 
 
 LAYS OF CANADA 
 
 THE DEATH OF WOLFE. 
 
 Behind Jacques Cartier's hills the sun sinks low ; 
 
 Low burn the beacon fires along the shore ; 
 The drowsy watch dreams of his Norman home, 
 
 And dusky warriors sleep, and deem their toils are 
 o'er. 
 
 Beneath the raven wing of sable night, 
 
 A little band, with martial fire aglow. 
 Sweeps down, while he who nobly leads them on 
 
 Chides every tardy hour that parts him from the foe. 
 
 Not glory's star allures that dauntless breast, 
 Nor lust of conquest fires that eagle eye ; 
 
 For hearth and home, for King and Crown, his brand 
 Unsheathes at duty's call and Wolfe will win or die 
 
 m 
 
 % 
 
 i 
 
And while no ghostly form unveils the fate 
 That, ere to-morrow's eve, awaits the brave, — 
 
 Love's gifts all laid aside, — he grasps his sword. 
 And sighs, " The paths of glory lead but to the 
 grave/' 
 
 Adown the stream, past watch and ward they glide ; 
 
 And as the keel grates on the rocky shore, 
 Silent and stern, and lithe as roe, each Gael 
 
 Upsprings o'er crag and fell, to meet the battle's roar. 
 
 And had New France no arm to rule the fig-ht. 
 Or guard her oriflamme with dauntless breast ? 
 
 Had the great Marquis wearied of the strife, 
 His war-worn blade to sheathe, and claim a soldier's 
 rest ? 
 
 Deserted by a ribald court and king, — 
 
 Ruled by a shameless minion's reckless hand, — 
 
 A thousand vampires battening on her blood, — 
 
 And knaves, or boastful fools deemed noblest of the 
 land;— f 
 
 o 
 
LAYS OF CANADA 
 
 Cape Breton's Capital laid with the ground, — 
 Acadia lost, — of Western Empire shorn, — 
 
 No friendly fleet to shield her smouldVing h omes, 
 And Stadacona's walls crumbling in sun and storm. 
 
 Such was New France ; — but in her bosom glowed 
 That patriot fire that burned while life was there ; 
 
 Not Vaudreuil's iron rule could cool her love, 
 
 Not Bigot's vile Friponne hound her to mad despair* 
 
 To arms ! Grandsire and striplings seek the field ; 
 
 The Censitaires obey their Seigneurs call ; 
 Both high and low together ply the spade, 
 
 And dainty hands weave gabions for the battered 
 wall. 
 
 And on that morn, when like their mountain mist 
 The Highland plumes waved o'er the beetling height^ 
 
 One sentinel stood faithful at his post, — 
 
 One watchful eye gazed wond'ring at the sight. 
 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 83 
 
 *But e'er the warning shot could tell the tale, 
 
 The Scottish steel found sheath within his breast ; — 
 
 Long may his mother wait to greet her boy ; — 
 He sleeps with kindred brave on Abraham's lofty 
 crest. 
 
 One cheer above ! one answering shout below ! 
 
 Swift ply the boats across the ebbing tide ; 
 Victors of Louisbourg press proudly on, 
 
 And cheerily the gun toils up the mountain side* 
 
 The pass is won, and as grey morning breaks, 
 The living wave rolls o'er the grassy plain, — 
 
 Grass that ere noon shall reek with human blood 
 From heaps of dead, like weeds upheaved by storra- 
 tossed main. 
 
 Hark 1 the loud larum thro' the welkin rings; — 
 
 Down drop the sere leaves with the cannon's roar ; — 
 
 The red line forms; — revenge in every eye, 
 
 For comrades slain on Montmorenci's blood-stained 
 shore. 
 
 I 
 
M 
 
 LAVS OF CANADA 
 
 Firm as yon stalwart pines, that phalanx stands, 
 Waiting the Chiefs command to deal the blow,- 
 
 And silent all, save but the mountain pipe 
 
 Yelling forth fierce defiance to the gath'ring foe. 
 
 And on yon ridge Guienne's fair banners claim 
 
 The spot where empire's sway will prove the prize, 
 
 And where, from hostile ashes kindly blent, 
 
 A nobler form, like wak'jing Phoenix will arise. 
 
 In fiery haste, from Beauport's battered shore ; 
 
 From feint, and bloodless field, now hurry by 
 La Sarre, Roussilon, Languedoc, Beam, and all 
 
 Burning from baffled foe to wrest fresh victory. 
 
 No braver sons, to bear her banners well. 
 
 Or laurels fresh to win, fair France might yield ; 
 
 Oswego won, — Fort William Henry theirs, — 
 
 And noblest still, Ticonderoga's hard-fought field. 
 
 k 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 ,1 
 
 1 
 
AND OTHER POEMS, 
 
 85 
 
 On sweeps that band beneath the rampart wall ; 
 
 On thro' the crowded streets and teeming gates ; — 
 
 On, where Guienne has watched since morn the lines, 
 Where calm, as coming storm, the proud invader 
 waits. 
 
 Silent and stern, Montcalm rides on that morn, 
 Heedless of warlike shouts, or battle songs ; 
 
 Victor of Carillon ! thy palms may fade, 
 
 And Abraham's plains avenge Fort William Henry's 
 wrongs. 
 
 Rank forms on rank, and as the managed hawk 
 Strains on its leash to swoop upon the prey, 
 
 So curbs the ardent chief his champing steed, 
 And longs to bid his warriors mingle in the fniy. 
 
 What stays the heart that panted for the strife ? 
 
 Why lags the bold Vaudreuil, when battle calls ? 
 Why guard a thousand men our peaceful lines ? 
 
 Why linger Ramesay's guns behind the shelt'ring 
 walls ? 
 
 \ 
 
I 
 
 .u 
 
 86 
 
 LAYS OF CANADA 
 
 ** On with the charge ! " he cries, and waves his sword ; — 
 One rolling cheer five thousand voices swell ; — 
 
 The levelled guns pour forth their leaden shower, 
 While thundering cannons' roar half drowns the 
 Huron yell. 
 
 
 " On with the charge ! " with shout and cheer they 
 come; — 
 No laggard there upon that field of fame. 
 The lurid plain gleams like a seething hell, 
 
 And every rock and tree send forth their bolts of 
 flame. 
 
 On ! On ! they sweep. Uprise the waiting ranks — '^ 
 Still as the grave— unmoved as granite wall ; — 
 
 The foe before — the dizzy crags behind — 
 
 They fight, the day to v/in, or like true warriors fall. 
 
 Forward they sternly move, then halt to wait 
 That raging sea of human life now near ; — 
 
 Fire ! rings from right to left, — each musket rings, 
 As if a thunder peal had struck the startled ear. 
 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 87 
 
 Again, and yet again that volley flies, — 
 
 With deadly aim the grapeshot sweeps the field ; — 
 
 All levelled for the charge, the bayonets gleam, 
 
 And brawny arms a thousand claymores fiercely 
 wield. 
 
 And down the line swells high the British cheer. 
 That on a future day woke Minden's plain, 
 
 And the loud Slogan that fair Scotland's foes 
 
 Have often heard with dread, and oft shall hear 
 again. 
 
 And the shrill pipe its coronach that wailed 
 On dark Culloden moor o'er trampled dead, 
 
 Now sounds the " Onset '* that each Clansman knows, 
 Still leads the foremost rank, where noblest blood is 
 shed. 
 
 And on XhiX. day no nobler stained the sod. 
 Than his, who for his country laid life down ; 
 
 Who, for a mighty Empire battled there, 
 
 And strove from rival's brow to wrest the laurel 
 
 crown. 
 
 r_ 
 
Twice struck, — he recks not, but still heads the charge, 
 But, ah ! fate guides the marksman's fatal ball : — 
 
 With bleeding breast, he claims a comrade's aid, — 
 " We win, — let not my soldiers see their Leader fall." 
 
 Full well he feels life's tide is ebbing fast, — 
 When hark ! " They run ; see how they run ! " they 
 cry. 
 " Who run ? " " The foe." His eyes flash forth one gleam, 
 Then murm'ring low he sighs, " Praise God, in peace 
 1 die." 
 
 Far rolls the battle's din, and leaves its dead. 
 As when a cyclone thro' the forest cleaves ; — 
 
 And the dread claymore heaps the path with slain, 
 As strews the biting cold the earth with autumn 
 leaves. 
 
 The " Fleur de Lys" lies trodden on the ground, — 
 The slain Montcalm rests in his warrior grave, — 
 
 " All's well " resounds from tower and battlement. 
 
 And England's banners proudly o'er the ramparts 
 wave. 
 
Slowly the mighty war ships sail away, 
 To tell their country of an empire won; 
 
 But, ah ! they bear the death roll of the slain, 
 And all that mortal is of Britain's noblest son. 
 
 With bowed head they lay their Hero down. 
 
 And pomp and pageant crovvn the deathless brave;— 
 
 Loud salvoes sing the soldier's lullaby, 
 
 And weeping millions bathe with tears his honoured 
 grave. 
 
 Then bright the bonfires blaze on Albion's hills,— 
 And rends the very sky a people's joy ; 
 
 And even when grief broods o'er the vacant chair. 
 The mother's heart still nobly gives her gallant boy. 
 
 And while broad England gleams with glorious ligh t, 
 And merry peals from every belfry ring ; 
 
 One little village lies all dark and still, 
 
 No fires are lighted there— no battle songs they sing. 
 
i 
 
 LAYS OF CANADA 
 
 There in her lonely cot, in widow's weeds, 
 
 A mother mourns — the silent tear-drops fall ; — 
 
 She too had given to swell proud England's fame. 
 But, ah ! she gave the widow's mite — she gave her 
 
 all ! 
 
 f 
 
 — ov^§««^^r,^.^ 
 
 >:.'^ 
 
 >•,<•<? "•' 
 
 ■y f V, • ^ _■.: v.. ■ .'■■'.. ' U^, ■■.'■;1 i^. 
 
 i,^>^:A '4^iy'\ir^ft^jr:.,ii.''^\i,^. a. 
 
AJ^D 02 HER POEMS. 
 
 91 
 
 
 
 '! ■-• / »i f ' " 
 
 JOSEPHINE, 
 
 TO HER CHARDONNERET (GOLDFINCH). 
 (Dedicated toj. M. LeMoine, Esq., Author of Les Giseaux Du Canada.) 
 
 Now this is June — sweet June, 
 And all the birds have found a home, 
 And youths and maidens love to roam. 
 And deem night comes too soon. 
 
 Thy kindred, robed in gold, 
 Now hurry here from sunnier lands, 
 And join our li jtle twitt'ring bands. 
 
 With song we knew of old : — 
 
 No sweeter song than this ! 
 And thro* the long, cold winter's rage, 
 Such strains came from that little cage, 
 
 With sun's first morning kiss. 
 
And while the east winds blew, 
 And blinding snow swept like a sea 
 Its billows deep o'er bush and tree, 
 
 Thy strains but louder grew. 
 
 Ah ! tell, fair bird, to me, 
 Didst thou know then that spring was near, 
 When bud, and bloom, and leaves would cheer 
 
 Thy tuneful melody ? 
 
 Couldst thou, beneath that snow. 
 See fields adorned with leaf and flower ; — 
 Hear music in yon shady bower, 
 
 And feel the soft winds blow ? 
 
 Or didst thou mean to tell 
 Of days spent in far f' iny lands, 
 Where streamlets wasL^d their golden sands 
 
 And knew no winter's spell ; 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 93 
 
 Where thro' the orange bowers, 
 Or where the sweet azah'as bloom, 
 Flit burnished wings, and rare perfume 
 
 Distils like summer showers ? 
 
 Perhaps too, as birds sing, 
 They give poor Josephine some blame," 
 That thou art here — a wild bird tame, — 
 
 That cage birds know no spring. 
 
 Fair bird, recall that day, 
 When wintry storms began to blow, 
 And 'neath a winding sheet of snow, 
 
 Thy form all pulseless lay. 
 
 I warmed thee in my breast, 
 I smoothed away each speck and stain, 
 Till life and beauty came again. 
 
 And laid thee in that nest. 
 
And thou wert happy too, 
 And lov'dst to nestle near my cheek, 
 And sweetly sing, as if to speak 
 
 Of love so leal and true. 
 
 Can birds be false like men, 
 And breathe soft talc;^ to willing ear, 
 Too prone the flatterer's %/ords to hear, 
 
 That may not come again ? 
 
 Go ! me thou lov'st no more ; 
 See door and window open wide, 
 And clothed in nuptial robes, thy bride 
 
 Waits by yon lakelet's shore. 
 
 And what's for Josephine ? 
 The memories of a maid — now sage ; 
 Avacant perch — a songless cage, 
 Where music once had been. 
 
 I 
 
u 
 
 AI^D OTHER POEMS, 
 
 95 
 
 Then fly ! love guides thy wing, 
 God gives us leafy June again, 
 And I have snapped thy captive chain ;- 
 
 Go, then, in peace and sing 1 
 
q6 
 
 ZAVS OF CANADA 
 
 TO A. D. A. 
 
 Died Qth August, 1873. 
 
 *' Leaves have their time to fall, 
 
 And flowers to wither at the north wind's breath. 
 And stars to set — but all. 
 Thou hast all seasons for thine own, O Death ! " 
 
 Mrs. Hemans. 
 
 We would not call thee back, An nie, 
 
 If this to us were given ; 
 We would not call thee back, love 
 For thou hast gone to heaven. 
 
 The little hands so meekly clasped, 
 
 Now grasp an angel's lyre ; 
 Those lips that helped our feeble hymn, 
 
 Now swell the seraph choir. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 i 
 
 97 
 
 The light of heaven around thee shines. 
 Such light earth may not know ; 
 
 Thy spirit saw the pearly gates, 
 And left a smile below. 
 
 Sweet prattling lips Now closed in death* 
 
 That smile now lingers there, 
 To tell to us of homes where thou 
 
 Hast neither grief nor care. 
 
 And yet we mourn for thee as if 
 All this we did not know. 
 
 Our tears might fill thy little grave, 
 And still would overflow. 
 
 We fain would say, " God's will be done,'* 
 As breathed a Saviour's prayer. 
 
 But ah ! our breaking hearts rebel, 
 And mourn as in despair. 
 
 G 
 
98 
 
 ZAVS OF CANADA 
 
 I gaze around and mark the tear 
 That dims thy mother's eye, 
 
 Thy sisters droop like weary flowers, 
 I hear thy brothers* sigh. 
 
 We miss thee now when Autumn's tints 
 
 Spread o'er yon maple tree, 
 For never, never more those hands 
 
 Will weave a wreath for me. 
 
 Our Christmas tree again may bear 
 For us fruits rich and fair, 
 
 And pattering feet around it dance, 
 But Annie is not there. 
 
 And when adown our hill the sleighs 
 Shall sweep in mirthful glee, 
 
 And joyous laughter burst around, 
 We may not look for thee. 
 
 t 
 
AND 01 HER POEMS. 
 
 99 
 
 The Spring shall come with flowers anew ; 
 
 And birds on every spray 
 Shall carol loud with glorious song, 
 
 To hail the new-born day. 
 
 But not to mossy nook nor bower^ 
 Nor pool nor winding stream, 
 
 Shall bird or blossom woo thee back, 
 V/here thou so oft hast been. 
 
 Child of our love ! Child of our tears ! 
 
 Go join thy sisters fair; 
 We would not keep thee in a world 
 
 Where we have only care. 
 
 And we shall give that form to dust, 
 In hope which God has given, 
 
 The casket now alone is left 
 Our gem is set in heaven. 
 
-I 
 
 1 00 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 LAYS O/^ CANADA 
 
 1 
 
 And toil will claim our hands anew, 
 
 And time will ease our woe, 
 While throbbing hearts will throb the less, 
 
 And tears less often flow : 
 
 The sombre weeds that we may wear. 
 
 To others may give place : 
 Thy name, tho' carved on sculptured stone^ 
 
 May sun and storm deface. 
 
 But in our heart of hearts that name 
 
 A place will ever fill ; 
 Thy looks and words and winning ways 
 
 Shall live there changeless still. 
 
 May these, like guardian angels, keep 
 Our footsteps on that road, 
 
 Where thou before us on hast sped 
 From earth up to thy God. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS, 
 
 loi 
 
 And may we live so that when we 
 Must yield us to the foe, 
 
 Our Annie then may welcome us, 
 Where tears no longer flow. 
 
 Then shall this wound at last be healed, 
 Where ransomed spirits sing, 
 
 O Grave ! where is thy triumph now ? 
 And where, O Death ! thy sting ? 
 
 We would not call thee back, Annie, 
 Since hopes like these are given ; 
 
 We would not call thee back, love. 
 We yet shall meet in heaven. 
 
 t 
 
 1 
 
102 
 
 LAVS OF CANADA 
 
 TRANSLATION FROM HORACE. 
 
 My self-erected monument now rears 
 Its lofty vertex to the heavenly spheres, 
 Lasting as brass. A shadow far is made, 
 And pyramids are clouded by its mighty shade. 
 
 The wasting rain may beat, and Boreal hail, 
 And years innumerable in vain assail ; 
 Hot summers glow, and angry winters mourn. 
 It stands uninjured still, alike by sun and storm. 
 
 I shall not wholly die, great part shall bloom, 
 And 'scape the dark oblivion of the tomb. 
 And new-born praise posterity shall lend. 
 While Priest and vestal to the Capitol ascend. 
 
AND OTHER FOEMS. 
 
 103 
 
 I, where King Daunus once his sceptre swayed, 
 And rustic subjects his commands obeyed, 
 Where raging Aufidus's waters glide, 
 And thro' the dry Apulia sweep their rapid ticj, — 
 
 I, lowly born, now raised to high degree, 
 There shall be mentioned, there be sung as he, 
 The first who taught the pure iEolian song 
 To breathe its fervour thro' the ruder lyre of Rome. 
 
 Melpomene ! who alone my song inspired. 
 Assume the pride thy merits have acquired. 
 And oh ! with willing hand, no more delay 
 To crown thy Poet's tresses with the Delphic bay. 
 
104 
 
 LAYS OF CANADA 
 
 THE BARD'S APOLOGY. 
 
 The oak may spread its arms until 
 
 A thousand men lodge 'neath the tree, 
 And yet the heath on northern hill 
 Still safely shields the wand'ring bee. 
 
 The Lyre-Bird mid Palmetto shades 
 May glow in beauty's splendid sheen, 
 
 And yet plain warblers in our glades, 
 
 To spring-struck eyes, more lovely seem. 
 
 Tho' Milton sung a glorious song, 
 
 Might charm the ear of heavenly choir, 
 
 A thousand humbler songsters lon^ 
 To touch with trembling hand the lyre 
 
Why ask then how I dare to sing, 
 
 When mightier ones have sung before ? 
 
 The wren's love plaint may pleasure bring, 
 As dread, the lordly Lion's roar. 
 
 Each in its way a chasm fills. 
 
 As God designed when life began, 
 
 The grubbing worm its pasturej|tills. 
 While higher soars the nobler man. 
 
 Then question not the poet's toil. 
 
 Nor ask what bent his pathway makes ; 
 
 This harp, astrung on Scottish soil, 
 Canadian echoes fondly wakes. 
 
 1 saw fair Scotland's woods and lakes, 
 Her hills adorned with purple bell ; — 
 
 Her crystal streams, her fens, her brakes, 
 And fields that freedom's story tell. 
 
 '• 
 
[06 
 
 LAVS OF CANADA 
 
 Her banks and braes I loved to lymn, 
 Or scale her hills of rock and snow, — 
 
 The Curlew's scream my vesper hymn, 
 The morn's tattoo, the heath cock's crow 
 
 The graceful form of" Nut-brown maid", — 
 Soft murmured tones — the love-lit eye ; — 
 
 Sweet wand'rings 'neath the leafy shade, 
 And dance and song when storms swept by. 
 
 All these woke thoughts that sometimes sleep. 
 Like bleaching bones of Judah's slain ; — 
 
 Till living tides thro' flood-gates sweep. 
 And lo 1 an army fills the plain. 
 
 Aiid all have passed like fleeting years, 
 And changed alike are sea and sky ; — 
 
 Farewells are whispered thro' our tears, 
 And New World wonjders meet the eye. 
 
 1- 
 
AND OTHER POEMS, 
 
 lOT 
 
 Hail ! Canada ; full well I own 
 
 Such claims as charm the heart like thine ; — 
 Where pleasure's seeds are broadcast sown, 
 
 Mid winter's storm, or summer's shine. 
 
 I love the lake, — the stream, — the glade, — 
 I love each beauteous flower that springs;- 
 
 Each tree that yields its grateful shade ; — 
 I love each bird that sweetly sings. 
 
 Oft have I spent fair leafy June 
 
 To lure the salmon from the stream ; 
 
 To list the rapid's murm'ring tune. 
 
 And deem such life a glorious dream. 
 
 The Guglue woke the morning hours, 
 
 The twitt'ring warblers thronged the trees \ 
 
 The Blue-jay roamed thro' bush and bowers, 
 And music filled the evening breeze. 
 
io8 
 
 LAVS Oh CANADA 
 
 And when the autumn tints had fled, — 
 When wasting winds had stripped the plain,- 
 
 When leafy screens were earthward shed, 
 As battle's strife lays low the slain, — * . 
 
 And snow wreaths o*er the mountains swept, 
 
 As if to hide the parted dead, 
 Till squirrels to their shelter crept, 
 
 And pressed the bear his wintry bed, — 
 
 0*er lake and stream we gaily sped, 
 The wary Caribou to track ; — 
 
 To find where shaggy Moose Deer fed, 
 And bring the hunter's trophies back. 
 
 The grelots chime a merry tone, 
 
 As glides the graceful sleigh along, — 
 
 And down famed Montmorenci's cone 
 Come tuque, capote, and choral song. 
 
AND OTHER POEMS, 
 
 And tho' the cold winds bite and blow, 
 And verglas clothe both turf and tree, 
 
 Nor chills our hearts the drifting snow, 
 Nor Boreal hail can mar our glee. 
 
 T09 
 
 Its own sweet song all nature sings, 
 As thunder roars, or zephyrs sigh ; 
 
 And soul-heard music rapture brings 
 
 From sea and shore, from earth and sky. 
 
 And shall the lips of man refuse 
 
 To echo back the soft refrain ; 
 Cr curb those gifts God gave to use, 
 
 That pulse and thrill thro' heart and brain > 
 
 Nor wander I along a way 
 Untrodden by the sons of song, 
 
 For "Northern Birds" have trilled their lay^ 
 Till grand acclaim rose loud and long. 
 
no 
 
 LAYS 01^ CANADA 
 
 And I have sung since iVom the lea 
 
 To mine smiled up the daisy's face ; 
 And song shall prove a joy to me, 
 : While heart and hand the lines may trace. 
 
 If I one winning tale have told ; 
 
 If I have cheered one dreary hour ; 
 Then have I found — more prized than gold- 
 
 And claim as mine the Poet's dower. 
 
 Let highest praise for others be, 
 On whom a loftier genius smiled. 
 
 Give each his own — enough for me, 
 To lisp content as Httle child. 
 
AND OIHER POEMS. 
 
 Ill 
 
 \tj> 
 
 NOTES TO THE DEATH OF WOLFE. 
 
 Note 1. The material upon which the death of Wolfe is 
 founded is taken chiefly from Parkinan, Le Moine, and 
 Hawkins' picture of Quebec. The events narrated in verse 
 took place as history has told the tale, and The Death of 
 Wolfe, owing but little to the imagination of the Author, might 
 almost form a chapter of a Historical Text Book. 
 
 Note 2. Stanza i. Vaudreuil says: The breaking up of the 
 camp at Montmorenci, and the abandonment of the intrench- 
 ments there, the re-embarkation on board the vessels above 
 Quebec of the troops who had encamped on the South bank, 
 the movements of these vessels, the removal of the heaviest 
 pieces of artillery from the batteries of Point Levi, — these and 
 the lateness of the season all combined to announce the speedy 
 departure of the fleet, several vessels of which had even sailed 
 down the river already. The prisoners and the deserters who 
 daily came in told us that this was the common report in their 
 army. 
 
 Note 3. When Bougainville saw Holmes's vessels drift down 
 the stream, he did not tax his weary troops to follow them. 
 
 Note 4. Stanza 2; Towards 2 o'clock, 13th Sept., 1759, the 
 tide began to ebb ; the boats cast off" and fell down with the 
 current. Z 
 
_L 
 
 I 12 
 
 LAYS OF CAM AD A 
 
 Note 5. Stanza 3. Wolfe was far from despising fame ; but 
 he controlling principles of his life were duty to his country 
 and his profession, loyalty to ne King, and fidelity to his own 
 ideal of the perfect soldier. 
 
 Note- 6 Stanza 4. Wolfe told John Jervis, afterwards Earl 
 St. Vincent, that he expected to die in the battle of the 
 next day ; and taking from his bosom a miniature of Miss 
 Lowther, his betrothed, he gave it to him with a request that 
 he would return it to her if the presentiment should prore 
 true. 
 
 ■ 
 
 Note 7. Wolfe with a low voice repeated Gray*s Elegy in a 
 Country Churchyard to the officers about him. Among the 
 rest was the verse which his own fate was soon to illustrate, — 
 ** The paths of glory lead but to the grave." 
 
 Note 8. ^Stanza 6. Montcalm in a letter to Bourlamaque 
 says : ** Pauvre Roi, pauvre France, carapatria ! Oh, when 
 shall we get out of this country ? I think I would give half 
 that I have to go home. When shall I see my Chateau of 
 Candiac, my plantations, my chestnut grove, my oil mill, my 
 mulberry trees ? " 
 
 Note 9. Stanza 7. Canada was the prey of official jackals. 
 A legion of indigenous and imported scoundrels fattened on 
 the general distress. La Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV., 
 was said to be the special protectress of the " Grand Company 
 of Associates," as their charter named them — " The Grand 
 Company of Thieves," as the people in their plain Nonnan 
 called them. :' 
 
 
 If" 
 
 li 
 
Note 10, Stanza 8, Nightafter night the garrison of Quebec 
 could see the light of burning houses as far down as the moun- 
 tain of Cape T'^urmente. 
 
 JVoie II. Louisbourg capitulated to the British in 1758. 
 
 Note 12. Stanza 9. This establishment was popularly known 
 as La Friponne, or the Chateau Vaudreuil. 
 
 Note 13. Vaudreuil, on his return to France, was seized and 
 thrown into the Bastille. He was afterwards acquitted. Bigot 
 was banished from France for life, his property was confiscated, 
 and he was condemned to pay fifteen hundred thousand francs 
 by way of restitution. 
 
 Note 14. Stanza 10. Such was the ardor of the people that 
 boys of fifteen and men of eighty were to be seen in the 
 camp. . 
 
 
 Note 15. Stanza 13. About 8 o'clock, some sailors had suc- 
 ceeded in dragging up the precipice a light six-pounder. 
 
 Note 16. Stanza 15. The Grenadiers burned to revenge 
 their defeat at Montmorenci. 
 
 Note 17. Stanza 16, Full in sight before him stretched the 
 lines of Wolfe ; the close ranks of the English infantry, a silent 
 wall of red, and the wild array of the Highlanders, with their 
 waving tartans and bagpipes, screaming defiance. 
 
 Note 18. Stanza 17. This ridge was suddenly thronged with 
 white uniforms. It was the battalion of Guienne. 
 
I 
 
 114 
 
 LAYS OF CANADA 
 
 Note 19. Stanzas 18 aid 19. La Sarre, Languedoc, Rouis- 
 sillon, Beam, — victors of Oswego, William Henry, and Ticon- 
 deroga. 
 
 Note 20. It was agreed between Wolfe and Admiral Saun- 
 ders that while the General made the real attack, the Admiral 
 should engage Montcalm.'s attention by a pretended one. As 
 night approached, the fleet ranged itself along the Beauport 
 shore ; the boats were lowered and filled with sailors, marines, 
 and the few troops that had been left behind ; while ship sig- 
 nalled to ship, cannon flashed and thundered, and shot 
 ploughed the beach, as if to clear a way for assailants to 
 land. 
 
 ' Note 21. Stanza 20. The army followed-crossed the bridge 
 in hot haste, passed under the northern rampart of Quebec, 
 entered ai the Palace Gate, and pressed on in headlong march 
 along the quaint narrow streets of the warlike town. 
 
 Note 22. Stanza 21. Montcalm rode with a fixed look, utter- 
 ing not a word. 
 
 Note 23. Stanza 23. Vaudreuil was courageous, except in 
 the immediate presence of danger, and failed only when the 
 crisis came. 
 
 Note 24. Montcalm waited long for the forces he had 
 ordered to join him from the left wing of the army. It is said 
 that the Governor (Vaudreuil) had detained them lest the 
 English should attack the Beauport shore. Neither did the 
 garrison of Quebec come to the aid of Montcalm. He sent to 
 
AND OTHER POEMS. 
 
 115 
 
 + 
 
 Ramesay, its commander, for twenty-five field pieces which 
 were on the Palace battery. Ramesay would give him only 
 three, saying that he wanted them for his own defence. 
 
 Note 25. Stanza 25. Over all the plain, from behind bushes 
 and knolls and the edge of cornfields, puffs of smoke sprang 
 incessantly from the guns of these hidden marksmen. 
 
 Note 26. Stanza 26. The English waited the result with a 
 composure which, if not quite real, was at least well-feigned. 
 
 Note 27. Stanza 27. The British advanced a few rods, then 
 halted and stood still. 
 
 Note 28. Stanza 29. In 1758 the second battalion of the 
 Lancashire Fusiliers was formed into a distinct regiment — the 
 67th — which on its formation was commanded by Lieut.-Col. 
 Wolfe, the gallant officer who a year later fell at Quebec. In 
 the same year the old 20th \\\s again on the continent, and 
 gained bright laurels in the heavy fighting with the French at 
 Minden. 
 
 Note 29. Then over the field rose the British cheer, mixed 
 with the fierce yell of the Highland Slogan. 
 
 • 
 
 Note 30. Stanza 34. Such was the impetuosity with which 
 the Highlanders, supported by the 58th Regiment, pressed the 
 rear of the fugitives, having thrown away their muskets and 
 taken to their broad swords, that, had the distance been greater 
 from the field of battle to the walls, the whole French army 
 would inevitably have been destroyed. 
 
J_ 
 
 ii6 
 
 LAYS 01^ CANADA, 
 
 Note 31. Stanzas 39 and 40 England blazed with bonfires. 
 In one spot alone all was dark and silent ; for here a widowed 
 mother mourned for a loving and devoted son, and the 
 people forbore to profane her grief with the clamour o ; their 
 rejoicings. 
 
 t. 
 
 *. : 
 
 .r • 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 u 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Queen's Jubilee 7 
 
 The Trapper's Christmas i^ 
 
 Ode to the Prince of Wales 20 
 
 Dominion Day Idyl -24 
 
 Frederick the Noble ^^ 
 
 Farewell to Trinity 30 
 
 Ode. — The Disappointments of Hoi)e 43 
 
 Fishing Song 46 
 
 To an Apple Tree Blossoming In October 48 
 
 Hymn ^o 
 
 The Well of Bethlehem 52 
 
 Hymn 58 
 
 C anada 61 
 
 In Memoriam — John Ross, Esq 63 
 
 Quebec's Burdens 66 
 
 In Memoriam — Major Short 72 
 
 The Arctic Owl ; or, a Naturalist's Dream 74 
 
 The Death of Wolfe So 
 
 Josephine, to her Chardonneret (Goldfinch) 91 
 
 To A.D. A 96 
 
 Translation from Horace 102 
 
 The Bard's Apology , 104 
 
 Notes to the Death of Wolfe m