[1]
"I've been, oh, sweet daughter,
"To fountain and sea,
"To seek in their water
"Some bright gem for thee.
"Where diamonds were sleeping,
"Their sparkle I sought,
"Where crystal was weeping,
"Its tears I have caught.
"The sea-nymph I've courted
"In rich coral halls;
"With Naiads have sported
"By bright waterfalls.
"But sportive or tender,
"Still sought I around
"That gem, with whose splendor
"Thou yet shalt be crowned.
"And see, while I'm speaking,
"Yon soft light afar;--
"The pearl I've been seeking
"There floats like a star!
"In the deep Indian Ocean
"I see the gem shine,
"And quick as light's motion
"Its wealth shall be thine."
Then eastward, like lightning,
The hero-god flew,
His sunny looks brightening
The air he went thro'.
And sweet was the duty,
And hallowed the hour,
Which saw thus young Beauty
Embellished by Power.
[1] Founded on the fable reported by Arrian (in Indicis) of Hercules
having searched the Indian Ocean, to find the pearl with which he adorned
his daughter Pandaea.
THE DREAM OF HOME.
Who has not felt how sadly sweet
The dream of home, the dream of home,
Steals o'er the heart, too soon to fleet,
When far o'er sea or land we roam?
Sunlight more soft may o'er us fall,
To greener shores our bark may come;
But far more bright, more dear than all,
That dream of home, that dream of home.
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