C^' .>) .V ■^i *o • i * L^- rf - _ e ,,/ ^ Poetry t iKIAGARA NIAGARA .Frozen on the cliff appears, Like a giant^s starting: tears. Moore GENERAL VIEW - MOONLIGHT, Voetry of NIAGARA ** Niagara ! wonder of this western world. And half the world beside ! hail beauteous queen Of cataracts I ** An angel who had been O'er heaven and earth, spoke thus, his bright wings furled. And kneh to Nature first, on this wild cliff unseen. Maria Brooks Compiled by cMyron T. Pritchard \ ! BOSTON LOTHROP PUBLISHING COMPANY T^c^v, ' THE LI8«ARV OF CONGRESS, Two Cop* as Receives AUG. 28 1901 COPVRKJMT ENTRY CLASS <^XXu H: COPY B. COPYRIGHT, ^ I 90 J, ^ BY LOTHROP P U B L I S H I NG COMPANY, NIAGARA ^^^SHE f if st effect — the enduringf one — ^^^ of the tremendous spectacle of Ni- agfara was peace — peace of mind, tran- quility, calm recollections of the dead, great thougfhts of eternal rest and happi- ness; nothingf of gloom or terror. Ni- agara was at once stamped upon my heart, an image of beauty, to remain there changeless and indelibly until its pulses cease to beat forever* Charles Dickens ^Acknowledgment is hereby ^iSQlB gff atefully made to Messts# Harper & Brothers^ Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Company, The Century Company, and The Independent for permission to use copyrighted poems in this collection* T E N T S X B O N Page Falls of Niagara, J* G. C. Brainard n At Niagara, Richard Watson Gilder J3 Niagara, Lydia Huntley Sigourney J5 Niagara Falls, Lord Morpeth 19 The Niagara Fall, William EUery Channing 21 Niagara, Thomas Gold Appleton 23 Niagara, Henry Austin 28 Niagara, Wallace Bruce 32 Niagara, Jose Maria Heredia 34 Niagara, C. E, Whiton-Stone 39 Niagara Falls, William Allen 42 Niagara, Anonymous 46 Niagara, Henry Howard Brownell 49 Niagara, L H. Clinch 56 Goat Island, Thomas Gold Appleton 65 Nymph of Niagara, Samuel Lover 67 Niagara Above tfie Cataract, Qara J. Moore 70 Niagara Below the Cataract, Clara J. Moore 72 The Cataract Isle, Christopher P. Cranch 74 ^ CONTENTS <^ Page The Leap of Niagara, Henry Pickering 78 The "Whirlpool of Niagara River Viewed on a Sabbath Morning, Susan Hill Todd 80 Niagara in Spring, William G. Richards 85 Avery, William Dean Howells 9 J Niagara, George Kottghton 98 Niagara, Willis G.Clark J27 Niagara's Everlasting Voice, Joseph Rodman Drake J28 ATIONS I^^IST OF ILLUSTR Page General View — Moonlight Frontispiece General View from New Bridge 15 ' Prospect Point — Moonlight 23 ^ Horse Shoe Falls from below 29 American Falls from below 35 American Falls from Goat Island 43 - Horse Shoe Falls^ Canada, "Winter 47 -'^ Cave of the "Winds 53 Horse Shoe Falls from Goat Island 65 Rapids above the Falls 75 ' Great "Whirlpool Rapids — looking down 8J " American Falls from Canada 93 View from Canada 99 Prospect Point — Winter J05 Cave of the "Winds — Rock of Ages J09 ' Whirlpool Rapids n\ ' Poetry of cNi i a g a r a THE FALLS OF NIAGARA HE thougfhts are str angfe that crowd into my brain, While I look upward to thee* It would seem As if God poured thee from his hollow hand^ And hungf his bow upon thine awful front; And spoke in that loud voice, which seemed to him Who dwelt in Patmos for his Saviour's sake, The sound of many waters; and had bade Thy flood to chronicle the ages back, And notch His centuries in the eternal rocks* Poetry of 3% i a g a r a Deep calleth «nto deep* And what are WCf That hear the question of that voice sub- lime? Oh, what are all the notes that ever rung^ From wa/s vain trumpet, by thy thunder- in gf side? Yea, what is all the riot man can make In this short life, to thy unceasing; roar? And yet, bold babbler, what art thou to Him Who drowned a world, and heaped the waters far Above its loftiest mountains? — a ligfht wave. That breaks, and whispers of its Maker^s migfht. John Gardner Calkins Brainard 12 'Poetry of d'i^i a g a r a PCT NIAGARA HERE at tlie chasm^s edge behold hef lean Tfemblino- as, 'neath the charm, A wild h'itd lifts no wing to 'scape from harm; Her very soul drawn to the glittering green, Smooth, lustrous, awful, lovely curve of peril ; While far below the bending sea of beryl Thunder and tumult — whence a billowy spray Enclouds the day. What dream is hers? no dream hath wrought that spell! Poetry of cNi i a, g a r a The longf waves rise and sink ; Pity that virgfin soul on passion's brink, Confrontingf Fate — swift, unescapable, — Fate, which of nature, is the intent and core. And dark and strong: as the steep river's pour. Cruel as love, and wild as love's first kiss ! Ah, God! the abyss! R. W. Gilder 14 GENERAL VIEW FROM NEW ^BRIDGE, 'Poetry of cNii a. g a. r a NIAGARA LO"W on forever, in thy §:lorious robe Of terror and of beauty^ Yea, flow on Unf athomed and resistless* God hath set His rainbow on thy forehead; and the cloud Mantled around thy feet* And He doth gfive Thy voice of thunder power to speak of Him Eternally, — bidding the lip of man Keep silence — and upon thy rocky altar pour Incense of awe-struck praise* Ah! who can dare To lift the insect-trump of earthly hope, Or love, or sorrow, mid the peal sublime 15 Poetry of cM^i a. g a r a Of thy tremendous liymn ? Even Ocean shrinks Back from thy brotherhood, and all his waves Retire abashed^ For he doth sometimes seem To sleep like a spent labourer, and recall His wearied billows from their vexing: play, And lull them to a cradle calm; but thou With everlasting*, undecayingf tide. Dost rest not, nigfht or day. The morn- ingf stars. When first they sangf o^er youngf cre- ation's birth. Heard thy deep anthem; and those wrecking: fires. That wait the archang:ers sigfnal to dis- solve Poetry of cNii a g a r a This solid earth, 'shall find Jehovah's name Graven, as with a thousand diamond spears On thine unending: volume. Every leaf, That lifts itself within thy wide domain, Doth g:ather gfreenness from thy living spray. Yet tremble at the baptism* Lo! — yon birds Do boldly venture near, and bathe their wingf Amid thy mist and foam. 'Tis meet for them To touch thy gfarment's hem, and lightly stir The snowy leaflets of thy vapour-wreath. For they may sport unharmed amid the cloud, 17 Poetry of cNi i a g a r a Of listen at the echoing^ gate of Heaven^ "Without reprooL But, as for us, it seems Scarce lawful, with our broken tones, to speak Familiarly of thee. Methinks, to tint Thy gflorious features with our pencil's point. Or woo thee to the tablet of a song, "Were prof anation^ Thou dost make the soul A wondering witness of thy majesty, But as it presses with delirious joy To pierce thy vestibule, dost chain its step. And tame its rapture with the humbling view Of its own nothingness, hi(i6in^ it stand In the dread presence of the Invisible, As if to answer to its God through thee. Lydia Kt^ntley Sigourney 'Poetry of chQ i a g a r a NIAGARA FALLS ^^ HERE'S nothing gfreat oi* brigfht^ lof lous Fall ! Thou maycst not to the fancy^s sense re- call, The thunder-riven cloud, the lightning's leap, The stirring of the chambers of the deep; Earth's emerald green, and many tinted dyes, The fleecy whiteness of the upper skies ; The tread of armies thickening as they come, The boom of cannon and the beat of drum; The brow of beauty and the form of grace, 19 Poetry of S^i a g a r The passion and the prowess of our race ; The song* of Homer in its loftiest hour, The unresisted sweep of human power ; Britannia's trident on the azure sea, America's youngf shout of Liberty ! Oh! may the waves which madden in thy deep There spend their ragfe nor climb the en- circling steep ; And till the conflict of thy surgfes cease, The nations on thy banks repose in peace. Lord Morpeth 20 'Poetry of S^i a. g a. r a THE NIAGARA FALL ta IS the boom of the fall with a heavy pour^ Solemn and slow as a thunder cloud. Majestic as the vast ocean's roar, Thfougfh the gffeen trees round its sing;- ingf crowd ; And the li§:ht is as green as the emerald §:rass, Or the wide-leaved plants in the wet mo- rass. It sounds over all, and the rushing storms Cannot wrinkle its temples, or wave its hair. It dwells alone in the pride of its form, A lonely thing in the populous ain 21 Poetry of 3^i a, g a, r a. From the hangings cliffs it whirls away, All seasons through, all the livelongf day. William EUery Channing PROSPECT POINT -MOONLIGHT, 'Poetry of cNii a. g a r a mKQARK m HOUGH the dusk has extingfuished the gfreen And the glow of the down-fallingf silver^ In my heart I prefer this subdued^ Cathedral-Iike gfloom on the water : When the fancy capriciously wills, Nor loves to define or distinguish, As a dream which enchants us with fear ; And scarce throbs the heart unaffrighted. With a colour and voice of its own I behold this wondrous creature Move as a living thing* And joyous with Joy Titanic, Its brothers in sandstone are locked, Yet from their graves speak to it* It sings to them as it moves. 23 Poetry of cKi a g a r a And the hills and uplands re-echo, The sunshine kindles its scales, And they gleam with opal and sapphire. It uplifts its tawny mane. With its undulations of silver, And tosses through showers of foam, Its flanks seamed with shadow and sun- shine* Like the life of man is its course. Born far in some cloudy sierra, Dimpled and wayward and small. Overleaped by the swerving roebuck ; But enlarging with mighty growth. And wearing wide lakes for its bracelets, It moves, the king of streams. As man wears the crown of his manhood. It shouts to the loving fields, Which toss to it flowers and perfume ; It eddies and winds round its isles, 24 Poetry of c^C i a g a r a And its kisses thrill them with rapture ; Till it figfhts in its strength and over- comes The rocks which would bar its progress* The earth hears its cries of rage, As it tramples them in its rushing. Leaping, exultant above And smiting them in derision ; Till at length, its life fulfilled. Sublime in majestic calmness. It submits to death, and falls With a beauty it wins in dying, Still, wan, prone, till curtains of foam en- close it. To arise a spirit of mist. And return to the Heaven it came from* As deepens the night, all is changed, And the Joy of my dream is extinguished j 25 Poetry of 3^1 a, g a r a I hear but a measttreless prayer, As of multitudes wailing; in angfuish ; I see but one fluttering; plungfe, As if angfels were falling; from Heaven* Indistinctly, at times, I behold Cuthullin and Ossian^s old heroes Look at me with eyes sad with tears. And a summons to follow their flyingf. Absorbed in wild, eerie rout. Of wind-swept and desolate spectres. As deepens the night, a clear cry At times cleaves the boom of the waters ; Comes with it a terrible sense Of suffering; extreme and forever* The beautiful rainbow is dead. And gfone are the birds that sangf through it* The incense so mounting" is now A stiflingf, sulphurous vapour* Poetry of cN^ i a g a r a The abyss is the hell of the lost^ Hopeless falling to fires everlasting;. Thomas Gold Appleton 27 Poetry of cH,i a g a r a. NIAGARA PLENDOUR supreme of constant majesty^ Of toweringf passion, overpower ingf charm, At last, mine eyes behold thee as thou art — In all the lig^htness of thy movingf grace ; In all the whiteness of thy soaring" spray ; In all the brightness of thy might ! At last. Mine ears drink in thy voice miracu- lous, O plunging mountain full of thunder- songs Defiant or triumphant, echoing aye Through vasts of day and night I 28 HORSE SHOE FALLS FROM BELOW, Poetry of 3^ i a g a r a O Shape teyond All wingfed imagfcry of magic words Most musical, by ancient bards bequeathed To spell the hearts of ever-coming men, At last, I grasp, I clasp thee; and my soul. Struck speechless in thy Cavern of the Winds, Breathlessly burns with sharp, voluptuous ache To dash herself against thy torrent breast And join the awful Angels of thy fall Perpetual on the crags of Agony — Victorious Agony of glorious doom ! O perilous ht'tdgc 'mid gusts of dazzling pearl, Or where a diamond storm enshrouds the way* 29 Poetry of cJ^i a g a r a Thou secm'st like Life a span ^twixt Day and Nigfht ; For tho' eternal rainbows crown the rocks, Halos of Hope, charmed circles of higfh Faith, Commanding: entrance through thechasms of Doubt, To deeps of nobler knowledge and soul- strength. Yet all this beauty overwhelms the mind By clash of contrast with our littleness* So, Heart of Mine, Oh ! Heart of All, stand up and take the sun! Seize, for 'tis thine, thy sovereignty of Light! Night with her pale Infinitude of Stars^ 30 Poetry of d^ i a, g a r a Nor Ocean^ nor the Mountains, nor e'en Thou, Niagara, with all thy loveliness, Can match, in possibilities of growth To Power, to Beauty, to Sublimity, That noblest Mystery, the Soul of Man* Henry Austin 31 'Poetry of cNii a g a r a NIAGARA /ROUD swayingf pendant of a crystal chain^ On fair Columbia's rich and bounteous breast, With beaded lakes that necklace-Iike re- tain Heaven's stainless blue with gfolden sun- light blest! What other land can boast a §:em so brig;ht ! With colors born of sun and driven spray — A brooch of §flory, amulet of migfht. Where all the irised beauties softly stray. Ay, more — God's living voice, Niagara, thou! 32 Poetry of cNii a g a r Proclaiming wide the anthem of the free; The starry sky the.crown ttpon thy brow, Thy ceaseless chant a song: of Liberty. But this thy birthright, this thy sweetest dower, Yon archingf rainbow — Love still span- ning Power* "Wallace Br ttce 33 T o e t r y of cH^i a g a r a NIAGARA REMENDOUS torrent! for an in- stant hush The terrors of thy voice, and cast aside Those wide-involvingf shadows, that my eyes May see the fearful beauty of thy face ! I am not all unworthy of thy sigfht ; For from my very boyhood have I loved, Shunningf the meaner track of common minds, To look on Nature in her loftier moods* At the fierce rushingf of the hurricane. At the near burstingf of the thunderbolt, I have been touched with joy ; and when the sea, Lashed by the wind, hath rocked my bark, and showed 34 AMERICAN FALLS FROM BELOW, Poetry of 3^ i a g d r a Its yawning' caves beneath me^ I have loved Its dangers and the wrath of elements* But never yet the madness of the sea Hath moved me as thy grandeur moves me now* Thou flowest on in quiet, till thy waves Grow broken midst the rocks ; thy current then Shoots onward like the irresistible course Of Destiny* Ah, terribly they rage — The hoarse and rapid whirlpools there! My brain Grows Nnldf my senses wander, as I gaze Upon the hurrying waters ; and my sight Vainly would follow, as towards the verge 35 Poetry of cH^ i d g a, r a Sweeps the wide torrent. Waves innu- merable Meet there and madden — waves innu- merable Urge on and overtake the waves before. And disappear in thunder and in foam. They reach, they leap the barrier — the abyss Swallows insatiable the sinking; waves. A thousand rainbows arch them, and the woods Are deafened with the roar. The violent shock Shatters to vapour the descending; sheets. A cloudy whirlwind fills the gfulf, and heaves The migfhty pyramid of circling; mist To Heaven. The solitary hunter near Pauses with terror in the forest shades. 36 Poetry of c/^i a g a r a What seeks thy restless eye } "Why are not here, About the joys of this abyss, the palms — Ah, the delicious palms — that on the plains Of my own native Cuba springf and spread Their thickly foliaged summits to the sun. And, in the breathing's of the ocean air, Wave soft beneath the heaven's unspotted blue? But no, Niagfara — thy forest pines Are fitter coronal for thee* The palm. The effeminate myrtle, and frail rose may grow In gardens, and give out their fragrance there. Unmanning him who breathes it* Thine it is Poetry of cJ^i a g a r a To do a nobler office. Generous minds Behold thee, and are moved, and learn to rise Above earth's frivolous pleasures; they partake Thy gfrandeur, at the utterance of thy name« Jose Maria Heredia 33 'Poetry of cNii a g a r NIAGARA ^^^11; HAT wild convulsion in the ages Shook thee to such immeasurable unrest, Oh, mad Nia§:ara? Did the hugfe crest Of some black mountain, splintered by a blast From Heaven down-bolted, leave these fissures vast Whence rush thy waters ? Or was ocean pressed From its storm-beaten shores, to dash thy breast And hurl out ragfe from thee, while Time shall last? Rage on, imperial mystery, that thou art; 39 Poetry of 3^i a g a, r a Chance, in tlie azoic age, with wonders rife, At mandate of the gods, from out earth's heart, In embryo doomed to everlasting strife. Thou sprang'st defiant, thunder- ing to thy part. Magnificent and terrible, as Life* Rage on, for giant raging thou may 'st show. Through veins that interlace the land, thy power. And with thy foaming passion, bring to flower The genius of man; may'st writhing 'Like a colossal serpent, to and fro, 40 Poetry of cNii a g a r a. "Wmding: thro«g:h ribs of steel that mas- sive tower^ And so imprisoned, strike the zenith hour When science shall supremest secret know : I liken thee to soul wherein is pent Divinest madness, that son^ surg-- ingf keeps, ^Tili by unconquerable forces rent, To mighty music it majestic sweeps. As the great Odyssey blind Homer sent Crashing sublimely down eternal steeps. C. E, Chiton-Stone 41 T" o e t r y of 3C i a. g a r a NIAGARA FALLS 5^0 Niagara! down the depth pro- found PIung:es thy broad and mighty gleaming floods Fed by vast lakes^ in symbol union bound. On Table Rock, now fallen, in youth I stood Gazing on all the scene in rapturous mood. There, at my level, the majestic stream O'er long curved cliff, with ample pleni- tude. Begins its stoop in regular bending gleam ; Then falls till shape is lost in foam and misty steam* Perched on thin leaf of overhanging rock, 42 cAMERICAN FALLS FROM GOAT ISLAND, Poetry of 3^i a, g a, t a. I venture to the cd§:e and look below ; I see the eddying; depth ; and feel the shocks The shore all trembling at the earthquake blow* Ah, what if sudden dizziness should grow. As, at Passaic cliff, in her who fell ? Or what if shock my foothold ledge over- throw, And to abyss I sink with loosenM shell ? The solitary fate no tongue could tell. But though no brother man with me 6kii stand, Yet God was there who scooped the basin wide And poured the flood out from his hollow hand. Yet God was there, whose voice on cv^ry side 43 Poetry of cN^i d g a r a Issued in thunders from the angry tide^ Yet God was there, the cloud-built arch to rear, With mingled hues of beauteous bright- ness dyed, Symbol once caused o^ct wider flood f appear. Blest pledge of earth's escape from destiny severe* Stand here, mortal presumptuous! and say — While ear is stunned with torrent's cease- less roar, And solid rocks do tremble with dismay — Cannot God's hand the flood of ven- geance pour. To sweep the proud, where they will boast no more ? 44 T o e t r y of cHii a g a r a Let warring tribes this voice of thunder hear, And hush their rage, lest whirlpool wrath devour I Christian ! the bow of promise shines forth clear, And thou mayst smile secure, when earth shall quake with fear* William Allen 45 'Poetry of cNii a g a r a NIAGARA ^W(^ STOOD within a vision^s spell ; ^^J I saw^ I hear d* The liquid thander Went poufing: to its foamingf hell, And it fell, Ever, ever fell. Into that invisible abyss that opened under. I stood upon a speck of ground ; Before me fell a stormy ocean. I was like a captive bound ; And around A universe of sound Troubled the heavens with ever-quiver- ing motion* Down, down forever — down, down for- ever, 46 %»«..'? %J ■^ :2§ HOJ^SE SHOE FALLS. CANADA. WINTER, Poetry of ^{^i a g a r a Somethingf falling;, falling;, falling;, Up, up forever — up, up iotcvct, Resting; never, Boiling; up forever, Steam-clouds shot up with thunder-bursts appalling;. A tone that since the birth of man Was never for a moment broken, A v^ord that since the world beg;an, And waters ran. Hath spoken still to man — Of God and of Eternity hath spoken. And in that vision, as it passed, Was g;athered terror, beauty, power ; And still, when all has fled, too fast> And I at last Dream of the dreamy past. 47 Poetry of cJ^i a g a r a My heatt is full when lingferingf on that hour* Anonymotis 48 T o e t r y of c^i a g a r NIAGARA I^^AS augfht like this descended, since J4p^i^> the fountains Of the Great Deep broke up, in catar- acts hurled, And climbing: lofty hills, eternal moun- tains, Poured wave on wave above a buried world ? Yon tides are ragfing-, as when storms have striven. And the vexed seas, awaking* from their sleep. Are rougfh with foam, and Neptune's flocks are driven In myriads o'er the g:reen and a^ure deep. 49 Poetry of chii a g a r a Ere yet they fall, mark (where that nugfhty current Comes like an army from its mountain home) How fiercely yon wild steeds amid the torrent, With their dark flanks, and manes and crests of foam, Speed to their doom — yet in the awful centre, Where the wild waves rush madliest to the steep. Just ere that white unf athomed gulf they enter, Rear back in horror from the headlong; leap; Then, maddeningf, plung^e — a thousand more succeeding 50 Poetry of 3{^ i a g a, r a Sweep onwar dy troop on troop, again to urge The same fierce flight, as rapid and un- heeding — Again to pause in terror on the verge^ Oft to an eye half closed, as if in solving Some mighty, mystic problem — half it seems Like some vast crystal wheel, ever re- volving, Whose motion, earth's — whose axle, earth's extremes* "We gaze and gaze, half lost in dreamy pleasure. On all that slow majestic wave reveals. While Fancy idly, vainly strives to mea- sure 51 Poetry of c^{^i a g a r a How vast the cavern which its veil con- ceals* Whence come ye, O wild waters? by what scenes Of Majesty and Beauty have ye flowed. In the wide continent that intervenes, Ere yet ye mingle in this common road? The Mountain Kingf, upon his rocky throne, Laves his broad feet amid your rushing; streams. And many a vale of loveliness unknown Is softly mirrored in their crystal gfleams. They come — from haunts a thousand Iea§:ues away, From ancient mounds, with deserts wide between, 52 CAVE OF THE WINDS. Poetry of cNii a, g a r a Cliffs, whose tall summits catch the part- ing: day, And prairies bloomingf in eternal green ; Yet the bright valley, and the flower-lit meadow, And the drear waste of wilderness, all past — Like that strangle Life, of which thott art the shadow. Must take the inevitable plunge at last» Whither we know not — but above the wave A gentle, white-robed spirit sorrovv'-ing stands, Type of the rising from that darker grave. Which waits the wanderer from Life's weaty lands. 53 Poetry of cN^i a g a r a How long- these wondrous forms, these colors splendid, Their gflory o'er the wilderness have thrown! How long that mighty anthem has as- cended To Him who wakened its eternal tone! That everlasting utterance thou shalt raise, A thousand ages ended, still the same. When this poor heart, that fain would add its praise. Has mouldered to the nothing whence it came. When the white dwellings of man's busy brood, Now reared in myriads o'er the peo- pled plain, 54 Poetry of cNii a g a r a Like snows have vanished, and the an- cient wood Shall echo to the eag-Ie's shriek agfain^ And all the restless crowds that now re- joice. And toil and traffic, in their eagfer moods, Shall pass — and nothing: save thine awful voice Shall break the hush of these vast soli- tudes. Henry Howard Brownell 55 Poetry of S^i a g a. r a NIAGARA ^^ESCRIBE Niagara! Ah, who shall ^^^ dare Attempt the indescribable, and train Thougfht's fra§:ile wingf to skim the heavy- air, Wet with the cataract^s incessant rain? The gflowingf ''muse of fire*' invoked in vain By Shakespeare, who shall hope from Heaven to win? And '' burning- words '* alone become the strain, Which to the mind would bring the awful din Where seas in thunder fall, and eddying oceans spin* 56 T o e t r y of S^i a g a r a Longf had the savage on thy glorious shroud, Fringed with vast foam-wreaths, gaz'd with stoic eye And deemed that on thy rising rainbow cloud The wings of the Great Spirit hovered nigh; And, as he marked the solemn woods re- ply In echoes to thy rolling thunder tone, He heard His voice upon the breeze go by. And his heart bowed — for to the heart alone God speaking through His works, makes what he utters known. But ages passed away — and to the West Came Europe's sons to seek for fame or gold; 57 Poetry of S^ i a. g a, r a. And one, perchance, more daring- than the rest, Lured by the chase or by strange stories told By Indian guide of oceans downward rolled, Felt on his throbbing ear thy far-off roar. Then sped the mighty wonder to behold. Thy voice around him and thy cloud be- fore. Till breathless — trembling — rapt — he trod thy foaming shore* Upward he gazed to where with furious hiss The waters spurn the precipice and leap Into the vexed and indistinct abyss. Where Rage and Tumult ceaseless battle keep. 58 Poetry of S^i a g a r d Fillingf with roar monotonous and deep, The wearied echo; — there he fixed his gaze, Like one entranced who fears to break his sleep, Lest the wild vision fade that sleep doth raise, All thought locked up and chained in stern and strange amaze* Till, slowly rallying from the first sur- prise. Thought from its magic prison breaks at last — The gazer from the foam-whirl lifts his eyes, And scans the whole arena wild and vast ; From point to point his eager glances cast. Take by degrees thy wide circumference in. 59 ! Poetry of cNii a, g a r a And as his speechless wonder slowly passed, Deligfht succeeded, deep, intense and keen, Heart, soul and sense absorbed in that un- rivalled scene* Then througfh his mind like lig:htnin§f flashed the thought. Once o'er the Patriarch's soul in Bethel thrown, ''Sure, God is with me, and I knew it not; I see His power in yon majestic zone Of migfhty waters, and its thunder tone Brings to my ear His voice — and deeply felt And almost seen His presence reigns alone/' Then meekly by the rock the wanderer knelt, 60 T o e t r y of c/^ i a g a r a Feelingf in awe and love his heart's full fountain melt* And long with shaded eye and bended head He prayed before the Temple's wondrous veil, While from its foot, in ceaseless eddies spread, The mist-cloud rose, like incense, on the §fale; And half he deemed that on its pinion frail His prayers, upborne, would blessed ac- ceptance know. He rose with gladdened eye and heart to hail Mercy's fair type and seal, the rainbow's glow 6i Poetry of 3^i a. g a, r a Spanning with calm embrace the troubled scene below. And when the westering daybeam warned him back, Lingering he stood, as spellbound by the strain, And oft he started on his homeward track, And oft returned, one parting glance to gain; And twilight had usurped its fitful reign Ere to thy foam his last farewell he bade. Then like an arrow, o'er the woody plain, Homeward he hurried through the deep- ening shade, Again in dreams to view thy wonders round him spread. And oft alone, and oft with friends, he came 62 Poetry of c^C i d g a r a To scan thy charms and worship at thy shrine^ And feel agfain devotion's hallowed flame Blaze in thy presence, fanned with breath divine: And oft from morningf until day's decline He sat and mused beside thee, for his eye Saw nowhere majesty and gfracc like thine: And in his soul thy migfhty minstrelsy Woke stern and glorious thoughts and visions wild and high* In silence long forgot the wanderer sleeps: But still as when thou met'st his startled gaze, Thy glorious scene the heart in wonder steeps Of him who seeks thee in these later days: Sublime in simple grandeur! Art can raise 63 Poetry of ^i a g d r a No rival to thy throne, nor words convey Thine image to the mind, though noblest lays Have vied in thy description* Day by day Thy roar shall speak of God till nature fade away. L H. Clinch 64 ' ^^^^M'|ar%^^ mm^^^- si m HORSE SHOE FALLS FROM GOAT ISLAND. Poetry of cNi i a g a r a GOAT ISLAND 'EACE and perpetual quiet arc around, Upon the erect and dusky file of stems, Sustaining yon far roof, expellingf sound, Throu§:h which the sky sparkles (a rain of gems Lost in the forest's depth of shade), the sun At times doth shoot an arrow of pure ofold. Flecking majestic trunks with hues of dun, Veining their barks with silver, and be- traying Secret initials tied in true love knots ; Of hearts no longer through green alleys straying^ T o e t r y of cH^i a g a r a But stifled in the world's distasteful gff ots* The silence is monastic, save in spots Where heaves a gflimmer of uncertain light. And rich wild tones enchant the wood- land night. Thomas Gold Appleton 66 Poetry of cNi i a g a r a NYMPH OF NIAGARA' ^^^YMPH of Niagara! Sprite of the W^^ mist! With a wild magic my brow thou hast kissed ; I am thy slave, and my mistress art thou, For thy wild kiss of magic is still on my brow* 1 feel it as first when I knelt before thee, "With thy emerald robe flowing brightly and free,"* Fringed with the spray-pearls and float- ing in mist, Thus 't was my brow with wild magic you kissed* ^ Written immediately after leaving the Falls. 2 The water in the centre of the great fall is intensely green and of gem-like brilliancy, 67 Poetry of cH^i a g a r a. Thine am I still, and I '11 never fot§:et The moment the spell on my spirit was set; Thy chain but a foam-wreath, yet stronger by far Than the manacle, steel-wroug:ht, for cap- tive of wan For the steel it will rust, and the war will be oVr, And the manacled captives be free as be- fore; While the foam- wreath will bind me for- ever to thee ; I love the enslavement and would not be free! Nymph of Niagfara! play with the breeze. Sport with the fawns 'mid the old forest trees; 68 y o e t r y o f <5y] i d g a r a Blush into rainbows at kiss of the sun^ From the gleam of his dawn till his bright course be rum I '11 not be jealous, for pure is thy sport- ing, Heaven-bom is all that around thee is courting; Still will I love thee, sweet Sprite of the mist, As first when my brow with wild magic you kissed ! Samuel Lover 69 T o e t r y of d^i a g a r a NIAGARA ABOVE THE CATARACT IVER of banks and woods and waters gfreen^ With all of beauty to attract the eye^ Why leaps my hearty as past thy shores we fly ? Art thou not quiet as an infant's dream, Pure as its thoughts, unruffled as its brow When circled by its mother's arms in sleep, While o'er it she doth still her vigfil keep ? Then wherefore leaps my heart so wildly now? Hark to that roar, deep as the thunder's tone, 70 Poetry of S^ i a g a r a And in the distance see the sun's last ray Falling: on clouds of never-ceasingf spray* In its wild beatingfs is my heart alone ? Thou gflidest on to meet that battlingf flood, Fearless as warrior to the field of blood ! Clara J. Moore 7X Poetry of 3^ i a g a r a. NIAGARA BELOW THE CATARACT. ITHIN a temple's toweringf walls A temple vast ; the heaven is its dome* No corniced crag was hewn by human hand, Nof by it wfougfht the tracery of foam ; The inlaid floor of emerald and pearl Heaves at the hidden orgfan's thun- derous peal, While round and up the clouds of in- cense curl, Shrouding the chancel where the bil- lows kneeL Ah! bow your heads* It is a fitting place 72 T o e t r y of ff^i a g a r a For solemn thougfht, for deep and ear- nest prayer ; For here the fingfer of our God I trace, Beneath, above, around me, every- where ; He hollowed out this gfrand and mighty nave, And robed his altar with the ocean wave! Qara J. Moore 73 'Poetry of cNii a. g a r a THE CATARACT ISLE j^ ^1^ WANDERED through the ancient ^^) wood That crowns the cataract isle. I heard the roaringf of the flood And saw its wild, fierce smile. Through tall tree-tops the sunshine flecked The huge trunks and the ground ; And the pomp of fullest summer decked The island all around* And winding paths led all along Where friends and lovers strayed ; And voices rose with laugh and song From sheltered nooks of shade* 74 %APIDS cABOVE THE FALLS. Poetry of S^i a g a r a Through opening: forest vistas whirled The rapids' foamy flashy As they boiled along; and plungfed and swirled, And neared the last longf dash. I crept to the island's outer vergfe, Where the grand, broad river fell — Fell sheer down mid foam and sur§:e, In a white and blinding hell ! The steady rainbow gayly shone Above the precipice ; And a deep, low tone of a thunder-groan Rolled up from the drear abyss* And all the day sprang up the spray, Where the broad, white sheets were poured. And fell around in showery play. And upward curled and soared* T o e t r y of 3^ i a g a r a And all the nig^ht those sheets of white Gleamed througfh the spectral mist, When o'er the isle the broad moonlight The wintry foam-flakes kissed^ Mirrored within thy dreamy thougfht, I see it, feel it all — That island with sweet visions fraogfht, That awful waterfall. With sun-flecked trees, and Birds, and flowers, The Isle of Life is fair : But one deep voice thrills through its hours. One spectral form is there ! A power no mortal can resist, Rolling forever on — A floating cloud, a shadowy mist. Eternal undertone ! 76 Poetry of cfi.i a, g a r a And thtougfh the sunny vistas gleam The fate, the solemn smile ; Life is Niagara's rushing stream, Its dreams — that peaceful isle ! C. P. Cranch 77 'Poetry of 3C i a g a r a THE LEAP OF NIAGARA j^^jOAR loisdf ye winds! ye awful thun- ders peal ! And instant rouse them from their fatal sleep^ Ere (cruel chance) they sink amid the deep, Whose secrets Death permits not to reveaL They wake! O heavens! "What now avails their zeal ? Precipitous their maddening; course they keep; And reeling; now they make the shud- deringf leap, Down-dashed 'mid watery worlds with all their weal! 78 Poetry of cM^i a g a r a And thus are they iotgoi I Not such the fate Of that immortal maid — enchantress sweet — "Who from Lucadia's rock (provoked by- Hate) Plungfed fearless in the waves that round it beat. Her name the sigfhing winds still breathe around. And Sappho, all the mournful caves re- sound* Henry Pickering 79 'Poetry of c^ i a g a r a THE WHIRLPOOL OF NIAGARA RIVER VIEWED ON A SAB- BATH MORNING was a Sabbath of the Sou!''; heard the distant cataract roll Its choral anthem higfh, Whilst from the forest's deep repose A breath of mingled fragfrance rose, Like incense to the sky Its azure dome was o'er my head, The gfreen leaves started at my tread, As if disturbed in prayer ; 'T was nature's worship — we alone Could jar its harp-stringfs — not a tone But breathed in concert there. 80 GREAT WHIRLPOOL RAPIDS ~ LOOKING DOWN, Poetry of d^i a, g a, r a. I saw^ below my verdant seat^ The swift Niagfara at my feet, As in a prison bound ; A rocky bed, with gfraceful bend And narrow outlets at each end. Encircled it around* While the proud rapids seem to pause Indigfnantly to view the cause Of their unwont delay — In solemn majesty, they turned, Lingerin§f, as if themselves they spurned, In durance thus to stay* In circlingf eddies round and round, I saw the careless driftwood bound. And watched it on its way. Borne §:ayly on the rapids' crest. Till on the water-gfiant's breast. The passive victim lay* 8i T o e t r y of c^i a g a r a "Within the whii^Ipoors false embrace, Condemned with never-ceasing pace Their aimless course to run, Without a hope or gfoal in view, An endless journey to pursue, Beginningf, never done* Yet viewlessly those links confine. Brighter than diamond sparks they shine, And merrily they flow, "Whilst each fair shore stands smiling by, And still the dancing waters fly. To music, as they go* And then I felt like one who dreams. And all his airy visions deems Realities of life; The senseless logs like men were seen, — 82 i i Poetry of ^i a g a r a A metamorphosis, I ween. Not much with truth at strife* For h not human life a stream. Whose rapids (cares and pleasures) seem To us but infantas play, Till, into passion's current hurled. Amid its restless vortex whirled, We chase the hours away ? "What are the chains the hands have wrougfht ? The strong-est chain is made of thought. The poet said of yore ; Spellbound by habit, thus we see, The ocean of eternity. Yet seek its bliss no more. O would we nature's lessons read. And draw our pure, exalted creed From her celestial lore, 83 Poetry of S^i a g a r a All earth would then be hallowed gfround. In every stream some virtue found The spirit^s woes to cure^ Susan Hill Todd 84 'Poetry of S^i a g a r a NIAGARA IN SPRING H^ could I gaze forever on thy face, ^ Unwearied still, thou matchless waterfall, Whose twining: spells of majesty and g-race My ardent sense bewilder and enthrall ! In all my moods thy charms^ puissant sway Enforce my will their master-spell to own; My heart leaps at thy voice — or gfrave or g:ay — And every chord is vibrant to thy tone* So many years I have come back to stand, "With reverent awe, before thy glorious shrine — 85 y o e t r y of cJ^i a g a r a So close and long thy lineaments IVe scanned — It seemed thou should'st §ffow somethingf less divine* I know thy face, its shifting; g^Iooms and smiles, As cloud or sun upon thy bosom lies ; | Thy wrathful guise, thy witching rain- bow wiles Can wake no more for me the sweet sur- prise* I know thy voice — its terror and its glee Have in my ear so oft their changes rung ; Nor forest winds nor anthems of the sea Speak to my soul with more familiar tongue* My feet have scaled thy storm-scarred | battlements, 86 Poetry of cNH a g a r a And pressed the moss most emerald with thy tears ; And still profaned thy lucent caverns^ whence The neophyte comes pale with ghostly fears^ Yet, as the more of God the soul perceives, And nigfher Him is drawn, it worships more; So, in my heart, its matchless beauty leaves Constraint, in thine. His grandeur to adore» Within thy courts I come this vernal day. Ere Fashion's chimes invite the thought- less throng ; Almost alone I watch thy curling spray. And lose my breath to swell thy ceaseless song* 87 Poetry of cM^i a, g a r a I mark the flowers upon thy mar§fe that blow^ Sweet violets and campanule^s white hells; Their azure shines unblanched, unblushed their snow : These timid thin§:s feel not^ as I, thy spells* And in thy woods the birds heed not thy roar, Where the brown thrush and painted oriole, All unabashed, their tides of song out- pour. As if thy floods in terror 616. not rolL They do not know the flowers and birds around. How wonderful, how gfrand, how dread thou art I 88 Poetry of 3^ i a, g a, r a. But I, transfixed by every sight and sound, Stand worshippings thy Maker, in my heart* I must %o back where tides of commerce flow, And the dull roar of traffic cleaves the air ; But in my heart sweet memories shall glow, And to my dreams shall summon visions fair. Niagara! thou wilt freshen all my thought. And cool the breath of fevered noons for me! My days shall lapse with thy remem- brance fraught. Thy voices chant my nights^ weird lullaby. Poetry of cJ^i a g a r a QttdX torrent, speed thee to the lake and sea, "With tireless smoke of spray and thun- derous roar ; I Bless my God for all thy joy to mc^ Thougfh I should see thy marvelous face no more* W. C. Richards 90 "Poetry of c^ i a g a r a AVERY. 1853 I. )m LL night long; they heard in the houses beside the shore. Heard, or seemed to hear, througfh the muhitudinotis roar, Out of the hell of the rapids as 't were a lost soul's cries, — Heard and could not believe; and the morning: mocked their eyes. Showing where wildest and fiercest the waters leaped and ran Raving round him and past, the visage of a man Clinging, or seeming to cling, to the trunk of a tree that, caught Fast in the rocks below, scarce out of the surges raught» 91 Poetry of cNi i a, g a r a Was it a life, could it he, to yon slender hope that clung; ? Shrill, above all the tumult, the answer- ing; terror rung-* IL Under the weltering; rapids a boat from the hridg;e is drowned, Over the rocks the lines of another are tang;led and wound ; And the long;, fateful hours of the morn- ing; have wasted soon, As it had been in some blessed trance, and now it is noon* Hurry, now with the raft ! But O, build it strong; and staunch. And to the lines and treacherous rocks look well as you launch ! 92 cAMERICAN FALLS FROM CANADA, Poetry of c/^i a g a r a Ovct the foamy tops of the waves, and their foam-spr ent sides, Over the hidden reefs, and througfh the embattled tides, Onward rushes the raft, with many a lurch and leap, — Lord! if it strike him loose, from the hold he scarce can keep ! No! througfh all peril unharmed, it reaches him harmless at last. And to its proven strength he lashes his weakness fast^ Now, for the shore? But steady, steady, my men, and slow ; Taut, now, the quiveringf lines; now slack ; and so, let her g-o ! Thronging the shores around stand the pitying multitude ; Wan as his own are their looks, and a nightmare seems to brood 93 Poetry of c^ i a g a r a Heavy upon them, and heavy the silence hangfs on all. Save for the rapids' plun§fe, and the thun- der of the falL But on a sudden thrills from the people still and pale, Chorusing: his unheard despair, a desper- ate wail : Caugfht on a lurkingf point of rock, it sways and swingfs. Sport of the pitiless waters, the raft to which he clings* m* All the longf afternoon it idly swings and sways : And on the shore the crowd lifts up its hands and prays : 94 I Poetry of cN^i a g a r a. Lifts to Heaven and wringfs the hands so helpless to save, Prays for the mercy of God on him whom the rock and the wave Battle for, fettered betwixt them, and who, amidst their strife, Strugfgles to help his helpers, and fights so hard for his life, — Ttjgfgfing at rope and at reef, while men weep and women swoon* Priceless second by second, so wastes the afternoon. And it is sunset now; and another boat and the last Down to him from the bridgfe through the rapids has safely passed* IV* "Wild through the crowd comes flying a man that nothing can stay, 95 Poetry of oA(] i a g a r a Maddening' against the gate that h locked athwart his way» ** No ! we keep the bridge for them that can help him. You, Tell us, who ate you ? ** ** His brother !^ ^* God help you both ! Pass through*^ "Wild, with wide arms of imploring, he calls aloud to him, Unto the face of his brother, scarce seen in the distance dim ; But in the roar of the rapids his fluttering words are lost As in a wind of autumn the leaves of au- tumn are tossed* And from the bridge he sees his brother sever the rope Holding him to the raft, and rise secure in his hope ; S^es all as in a dream the terrible page- antry, — 96 Poetry of 3^ i a g a, r a Populous shores, the woods, the sky, the birds flyingf free ; Sees, then, the form — that, spent with effort and fastingf and fear. Flings itself feebly and fails of the boat that is lying; so near — Caugfht in the longf-baffled clutch of the rapids, and rolled and hurled Headlong on the cataract's brink and out of the world* "William Dean Howells 97 Poetry of cJ^i a g a r a NIAGARA ORMED when the oceans were ^ fashioned, when all the world was a workshop ; Loud roared the furnace fires, and tall leapt the smoke from volcanoes, Scooped were round bowls for lakes, and gfrooves for the sliding; of rivers, Whilst, with a cunningf hand, the moun- tains were linked together^ Then through the daw-dawn, lurid with cloud, and rent by forked lightning;. Stricken by earthquake beneath, above by the rattle of thunder. Sudden the clamour was pierced by a voice, dcep-lungfed and portentous — 98 VIEW FROM CANADA, Poetry of cfi.i a g a r a. Thine, O Niagara, cryingf: *'Now h created completed ! '^ JL Millions of cup-like jlossoms, brimmingf with dew and with rain-drops, Mingfle their tributes together to form one slow-trickling brooklet ; Thousands of brooklets and rills, leaping down from their home in the uplands. Grow to a smooth, blue river, serene, and flowing in silence^ Hundreds of smooth, blue rivers, flashing afar o'er the prairies. Darkening 'neath forests of pine, deep drowning the reeds in the marshes. Cleaving with noiseless sledge the rocks red-crusted with copper, 99 LofC. Poetry of d^i a g a r a. Circle at last to one common gfoal, the Mighty Sea-Water* Lo! to the northward outlyingf, wide glimmers the stretch of the Great Lake^ White-capped and sprinkled with foam, that tumbles its bellowing breakers Landward on beaches of sand, and in hiding-holes hollow with thunder, Landward where plovers frequent, with the wolf and the westering bison. Four such Sea-Waters as this, a chain of green land-bounden oceans. Pour into one their tides, ever yearning to greet the Atlantic, Press to one narrow sluice, and proffering their tribute of silver. Cry as they come : ** Receive us, Niagara, Father of Waters!'^ 100 Poetry of 3Ci a g a r a Such is the Iroquois ^od, the symhol of migfht and of plenty^ Shrine of the untutored brave, subdued by an unfathomed long^ing-, Seekingf in water and wind, still seeking- in star-gflow and ligfhtningf, Something to kneel to, something to pray to, something to worship. Here, when the world was wreathed with the scarlet and gold of October, Here, from far-scattered camps, came the moccasined tribes of the redman. Left in their tent their bows, forgot their brawls and dissensions. Ringed thee with peaceful fires, and over their calumets pondered ; Chose from their fairest virgins the fair- est and purest among them. Poetry of cNii a g a r a Hollowed a birchen canoe, and fashioned a seat for the vir gfin, Clothed her in white, and set her adrift to whirl to thy bosom, Sayingf : ** Receive this our vow, Niag-ara, Father of Waters!'' HL THE PILGRIM Pilgfrim I too once came, to tender my token of homagfe* I too once stood on thy wooded banks, my heart filled with wonder, I too would render some gift, some tribute of songf and of harp-stringfs. But 'neath the roll of thy wheels, my shepherd's flute was overmastered. Callingf, thou seemest to murmur : ** Come, and I will instruct thee!" Poetry of 9^ i a g a, r a. Willingf I ran^ like a palmer of old, with his pike-staff and wallet, Willingf I lingfered long, to go, but to turn on the morrow, Comingf again and again, — yet only to doubt thee more deeply^ Idol I found thee, unfeeling, challenging man but to mock him, "Whispering to one that is weak of voids that are vast and almighty. Hinting of things heaven-high to one not winged like an eagle, Telling of changeless parts to a leaflet that reddens to perish ; Ever, as nearer I fared, the mightier, less merciful found thee. Till, after listening long, I faltered, forlorn and disheartened; 103 Poetry of ^^ i a g a r a Wearied of ceaseless strife, and yearned for some peaceful seclusion, Where to the chorusingf throngf both ear and eye might be shuttered ; Hated the turmoil of life, where sounds that are sweetest are strangled, And into discord clash those martial meas- ures, that struggling. Should the din of the dismalest fight, with quavering echoes. Nerve the warrior anew? and fire his soul with devotion. Turning towards far-off fields, I fled, till, stopping to listen. Only dull undertones told that still thou wert calling and calling; Wept, and wished it mid-winter, that, muffled in snows of December, 104 PROSPECT POINT -WINTER. Poetry of cK,i a, g a, r a Ail the world might be smothered in silence utterly soundless; "Wished like a Druid to hie to some moun- tain-top shorn and unsheUered, Where^ in their wildest flights, the riotous winds might be stifled, Finding no hollow reed through which to pipe their bravuras, Finding no trembling twig on which to twang their lamentings* Then, as I crost a meadow-land, dight with mallow and daisies, Heard the low bumble of bees, and the delicate footsteps of robins That o'er the crispy leaves of the scrub- oak coverts went hopping. Suddenly — who shall explain it ? — faith returned to my bosom ; Poetry of cNii a g a r a Suddenly hope tcwivt6^f the fogf from the fens was uplifted^ Lost was the din of life that stormed and roared in the roadways^ Calm were the grassy fields^ a lullaby purred througfh the willows. And overhead the night was illumined with flickering beacons* IV. Often, in later years, allured by thy strange fascination, Often again have I come, with feet that would not turn backward ; Often knelt at thy feet, and sought with a lovcr^s persistence, Whether, beneath thy dolorous fugue, one promise was whispered. io6 Poetry of cf^ i a g a r a. Hope there was none for me; augfust was the deep diapason, But ^t was the moan of the sea, the §frowI of the forest ttnfeelingf. Threat of the sulphurous skies that, when they are fevered and angfry, Volley the world with flame and curse mankind with their laughter. V. THE UPPER RAPIDS Still, with the wonder of boyhood, I fol- low the race of thy Rapids, Sirens that dance, and allure to destruc- tion — now lurking in shadows. Skirting the level stillness of pools and the treacherous shallows. Smiling and dimple-mouthed, coquetting, — now modest, now forward ; 107 Poetry of c^C i a g a r a Tenderly chantingf^ and such the thrall of the weird incantation, Thirst it awakes in each listener's soul, a feverish longfingf, Thougfhts all-absorhent, a torment that stingfs and ever increases, Burningf ambition to push bare-breast to thy perilous bosom^ Thus, in some midnight obscure, bent down by the storm of temptation (So hath the wind, in the beechen wood, confided the story). Pine-trees, thrusting; their way and tramp- lingf down one another. Curious, lean and listen, replying in sobs and in whispers ; Till of the secret possessed, which brings sure blight to the hearer loS CAVE OF THE WINDS -ROCK OF AGES, Poetry of cM^ i a g a r a. (So hath the wind^ in the beechen wood confided the story), Faltering't they stagfgfer brinkward — clutch at the roots of the grasses. Cry — a pitiful cry of remorse — and plungfe down in the darkness. Art thou, all-merciless then — a fiend, ever fierce for new victims ? "Was then the red-man ri§:ht (as yet it liveth in legend). That, ere each twelvemonth circles, still to thy shrine is allotted Blood of one human heart, as sacrifice due and demanded ? Butterflies have I followed, that, leaving the red-top and clover, Thinking the wind-harp thy voice, thy froth the fresh whiteness of daisies, 109 Poetry of cNi i d g a r Ventured too close^ grew giddy, and catch- ing cold drops on their pinions, Balanced — but vainly — and, falling, their scarlet was Blotted forever^ VL THE CATARACT Still to thy Fall I come near, as unto earth's grandest cathedral. Forehead uncovered, hands down, with feet that falter beneath me ; Hearing afar, o'^er the rustling grass and the rush of the river. Chorus triumphant, thy trumpet voice, and I tremble with v.reafcness» Tall above tower and tree looms thy steeple builded of sunshine. Mystical steeple, white like a cloud, up- yearning toward Heaven, no Poetry of cJ^i a g a r a Till into cloud-land it drifts^ uprollingf in hill-tops and headlands, Catches the gflory of sunset, then pales into rose-tint and purple^ Slowly thfougfh got hie aisles, I creep to the steps of thine altar, Halfway forgetting^ thy presence, though still with each step I draw nearer. Halfway forgetting thy voice, so far it sends fancy awandering. Till, with a sudden ascent, full-face thou standest before me* Who, upon tiptoes straining, shall snare the fleet course of the comet ! "Who, in bright pigments, shall match the luminous sun-god at mid-day! "Who shall dare picture in words the tur- bulent wrath of the tempest! Poetry of c7^ i a g a r a Seeing, I can but stand still, with fingfer on lip, and keep silent. VIL Lo ! dfiftingf toward us approaches a curious tangle of something ! "White and untillered it floats, bewitching the sight, and appearing Like to a birchen canoe, a virgin crouched pallid within it, Hastening with martyr zeal to solve the unriddled hereafter! Slower and smoother her flight, until on the precipice pausing. Just for the space of a breath the dread of the change seems to thrill her ; Crossing herself, and seeming to shudder, She lifts her eyes to Heaven — Poetry of c^{^i a g a r a Sudden a mist upwhirls — I see not — but know all is over* Stoop and explore the void where this vision of fancy hath vanished ! Torrents of §:reen and blue drench down the dizzy escarpment, Fall into shattered flakes, and merge into fury of snow-squalls ; Crisp, like gflaciers, they shatter, then smoke in the whirl of the vortex. Stoop and look down! and read, if you can, the terrible riddle! Nay, the secret of death by death's eyes alone can be fathomed; But o'er the mystery finished is fluttered the curtain Most Holy, And on this curtain is set the sig-n of re- demption — a rainbow. "3 Poetry of cNii a g a r a SymBol of hope is this, or merely man's hopeful invention ? Thou hast no answer to that, beyond this dull undertone moaning : ** Man, of all animate things the noblest, most meanly ignoble, Smiling only to tempt, and spoiling what- ever he embraces I '^ Is then thy bow we clasped as pledge of a promise unfailing. Naught but a sun-dog ferocious, that, mouthing the mariner's noonday, Kisses with lying lips the soft-sleeping clouds of midsummer. Only to taunt him, lulled by the calm, with an ambushed tornado ? Faith in thee have I none! I lift spent eyes, and, despairing, 114 T o e t r y of d^i a. g a r a Set my teeth in def iance^ Fate, then, the father of all things ! I but a victim moth, to be snatched by a merciless current, Drag:g:ed by cold eddies down, to be lost and forever forgfotten ! Why then this pilgfrimagfe here? God knows no willful self-seeking Lent us this restless life; and no faint heart or rebellion Gives us this fear to lie down, and rest in the slumberous dreamland ! — Answer, if answer thou hast! Answer, Niagara! answer! Weary with waiting, we climb to the hill-tops nearest to Heaven, Find only floating fogs, and air too meagre to nourish ; "5 Poetry of cM^i a g a r a Seeking the depths of the sea, we drop ouf plummets and feel them, Draw them in empty, or yellowed with day, that melts and tells nothing: ; Forests we thread, wide prairies unfenced, and drenched morasses. Strike, with the fervour of youth, to the heart of the tenantless deserts ; Turn every boulder, still hopingf to find beneath them some prophet — Find only thistles unsunnM, green sloth, and passionless creatures* Youth flitted by us, we faint, then sink in the ruts of our fathers ; Shift as we may with the old beliefs, and beat on our bosoms ; Seek less and hunger less keenly, still sor- row for self and for others, ii6 Poetry of c/^i a g a r a Striving', by travail and tears, life's deeper ' meaning to strangle ; Drag from sunset to sunset, too fainting to fear for the morrow, Suffer, complain of our loads, but catch at their withes as they leave us. Letting the song-birds escape, perceiving not till they Ve fluttered — Bitterly weeping then, as we watch them die in the distance. Struggling, we snatch at straws: call out, expecting no answer ; Pray, but without any faith ; grow lag- gard and laugh at our anguish; Sin, and with wine-cup deadened, scoff at the dread of hereafter — And, because all seems lost, besiege Death's doorway with gladness. 117 T o e t r y of 3^ i a g a r a Better we had not been, for what is the gfoal of such stfivingf? Bubbles that glittei* perchance, to burst in thin air as they glitter! Comets that cleave the night, to leave the night but the darker ! Smudge that bursts into flame, but only in smoke to be smothered ! Out of the gifts of our spring, that only is beautiful, counted "With which the day-dawn breaks hu6f and dies ere the dewdrops have left it ; Smiles there no healthfuller clime, where forms that are fair never perish. But, in a life-giving ether, grow fairer with ripening seasons ? Iroquois God, I adore thee, because thou art lasting and mighty, Poetry of cM^i a, g a r a Tistti and g:a2e at thce^ §:oin§;, as on an all- mar vclotis vision^ Dread thee, thou art so serene — but hate thee with hatred most bitter, Taunter of all who dabble thy foam, and think to discover* VIIL THE GORGE 'Neath the abyss lies the valley, a valley of darkness — a hades, "Where the spent stream, as it strives, seeks only an end to its anguish ; Who shall its fastnesses fathom, or tell what wrecks they envelop? Here 'neath the tides of time, life's rem- nants await resurrection* Deep is the way, and weary the way, whft^ tnftv c^hct^7P tt while lofty above it 19 Poetry of 3^ i a g a r a Frowns upon either hand, a cliff sheet- shouldered or beetlingf, Holdings in durance forever the course of the will-broken exile, Blighting; all hope of return, should it pant for the flowering; pastures* But from the brinks lean down a few slender birches and cedars, Dazed by the depth and the gfloom of the channel resounding beneath them ; Here campanulas, too, which lurk wher- ever is dangfer. Stoop with a smile of hope, reflecting the blue of the heavens* Fleeter still flies the flood, up-heaving its scum at the centre. Dragging the tides from the shores to leave them a hand-breadth the lower ; WHIRLPOOL %APIDS. Poetry of cf^i a g a, r a "While, like a serpent of yellow, the spume crooks down to the Whirlpool, Trails with a zigfzagfgfing- motion down to the hideous "Whirlpool* IX. THE WHIRLPOOL Here is the end of all things, of all things another beginning, Here the long valley crooks, and the flight of the river is broken ; Round is the cavernous pool, and in at one side leaps the river. Headlong it plunges, despairing, and beats on the bars of its prison j Beats, and runs wildly from wall to wall, then strives to recover. Beats on another still, and around the circle is carried. Poetry of cH.i a g a r a Jostled from shoulder to shoulder, till losing its gfallopingf motion, Dizzily round it swirls, and is dragged to- ward the hideous "Whirlpool. Lofty the rock-walls loom, the narrow outlet concealing, Loftier still stoop pines, that shut out the pity of sunlight ; Whilst above both a shadow, as if from the wings of a vulture. Sheds over all below a pall more spectral than midnight* Up from the seething witch-pot arises a sulphurous vapour, Smoke-clouds slow-winged drift hither and hence, revealing, now hiding : Whilst from the hollow depths, that hiss from some under-world fervour^ 122 Poetry of cNii a g a, r a Bubble, in torrents black, the refuse of wreck and corruption. Round sweeps the horrible maelstrom, and into the whirl of its vortex Circle a broken boat, an oar-blade, thing^s without number; Striving:, they shove one another, and seem to hurry, impatient To measure the shadowy will-be, and seek from their torment a respite. Logs that have leapt the Falls and swum unseen 'neath the current. Here are restored agfain, and weird is their resurrection; Here like straws they are snapt, and grinding: like millstones togfether, Chafingf and splintering; their mates, they wade in their deepening: ruins; 123 Poetry of 3^1 a g a r a Till, without hope, on tiptoe they rise, lips shriveled and speechless, Seeingf sure fate before them that tightens its toils to ensnare them; Hollow the hell-hoIe gapes, and raven- ously it receives them — All that is left is a sigh, and the echoes of that are soon strangled* X. CONCLUSION This, then, can this he the end? and death but a blotting forever ? Turning, a bird was beside me, and strik- ing a delicate measure. Clearly it whistled — a herald-like strain, that challenged a hearer. Sung — 'twas a broken song — and stop- in g, far distant, it fluttered* 124 "Poetry of ^i d g a r a *^ Seek within ! ** was the messagfe, *' with- out is only reflection ; Sinless ate nature's forms, and therefore utterly soulless ; Sin may debase thee, make thee the ser- vant of Fate and of Nature — But to thy height arise, and thou art of all thingfs creator* **That alone is augfust which is g:azed upon by the noble, That alone is gladsome which eyes full of gladness discover ; Night-time is but a name for the dark- ness man nurtures within him, Storm but a symbol of sin in a soul that IS stained and unshriven* ^ Act but thine own true part, as He who created hath purposed, 125 T o e t r y of c^i a g a r a Then are the waters thine, the winds, all forces of nature; Thine too the seasons, their fraits, which they redden but to surrender. Thine too the years, and thine all time — everlasting: and fearless/' George Houghton 126 Poetry of cHii a g a r a NIAGARA ^^^^ERE speaks the voice of God — let 'Jg^g man be dumb, Nor with his vain aspiring hither come. That voice impels the hollow-soundingf floods, And like a presence fills the distant woods* These groaning rocks the Almighty^s fin- ger piled ; For ages here his painted bow has smiled. Mocking the changes and the chance of time — Eternal, beautiful, serene, sublime. Willis G. aar k 27 Poetry of cNii a g a r a NIAGARA^S EVERLASTING VOICE ^^mi OW sweet h would be, when all the JKkji^J air, In moonlight swims alongf the river. To couch upon the §:rass and hear Niagara's everlasting" voice Far in the deep blue West away ; That dreamy and poetic noise We mark not in the glare of day — Oh, how unlike its torrent-cry When o'er the brink the tide is driven. As if the vast and sheeted sky In thunder fell from Heaven ! Joseph Rodman Drake 128 % s'S^^ .,.« "^^ \/ y^', "w^ -^^ \/ .-afe" ^ ^-. ' '^^ %'^^%^^/ '^^' '^ -.^^^Z ^.^'^^'^ ^•'^^♦* 'i^' ^"^-^^ ***** ^ ^^.^ •P^ .i I '\.^ =' Jfe- X..^-^* .^M^°= %.a'' /Jfe\ ^ ^^. *>.