JULY, 1st, 1867.
I.
Our land is flushed with love; through the wealth of her gay-hued tresses
From his bright-red fingers the sun has been dropping his amorous fire,
And her eyes are gladly oppressed with the weight of his lips’ caresses,
And the zephyr-throbs of her bosom keep time with the voice of his lyre.
II.
’Tis the noon of the sweet, strong summer, the king of the months
of the year,
And the king of the year is crowning our Land with his glory of love,
And the King of all kings, in whose crown each gem is the light of
a sphere,
Looks smilingly down on our Land from the height of His heaven above.
III.
For to-day she breathes what to her is the first of a nation’s breath,
As she lies ’neath the gaze of the sun, as a bride, or a child new-born,
Lies with fair motionless limbs in the beautiful semblance of death,
Yet awake with the joy of a bird that awakes with the whisper of morn.
IV.
And her soul is drinking the music that flows through the golden lyre,
From the deeps of the woods and waters and wonderful hearts of men,
From the long-hushed songs of the forest, the wild, primeval choir,
Till she feels the breath of the Spirit move over her face again.
1.
Of the shadowy distant ages,
(This is the song they sing),
That scorn historic pages,
When the Maple alone was king;
When the bears were lords of creation,
The beaver’s the only trade,
And the greatest Confederation
Was that which the wolves had made.
2.
And then, long ages after,
How the first of the forest men,
With sounds of war and laughter,
Invaded the wild beast’s den;
They tell of the axe’s ringing,
Of the camp-fire’s savage glee,
Of the pipe of peace and the singing
Under the maple tree.
3.
And how strange birds of ocean
Came from the dawn of day,
And woke untold commotion,
Where’er they winged their way;
How pale-faced men and cruel
Carried the sword and brand,
In search of gold and jewel,
Into the red man’s land.
4.
How, with the warriors, others
Of gentle manners came,
Who called the red men brothers
And told them of His Name,
Who came from the Great Spirit,
To bless mankind and save;
And who, for man’s demerit,
Suffered the cross and grave.
5.
How still in spite of preaching
Of brotherhood and peace,
It seemed that war’s stern teaching
Should never, never cease;
How blood was shed like water,
How treaties were despised,
How massacre and slaughter
Were night and day devised.
6.
How, in the course of seasons,
Other strange ocean birds
Brought violence and treasons,
And smooth, deceitful words;
And how the first pale-faces
Fought with the last who came,
Until a war of races
Set all the woods aflame.
7.
How valiant deeds and noble
Shone out amid the night,
Illuming scenes of trouble,
With Heaven’s blessed light;
How oft, in human nature,
Though wofully defaced,
Was seen some god-like feature—
A flower in a waste;
8.
Till now, through God’s good guiding,
Those who as foemen strove,
With heart in heart confiding,
As brothers join in love;
Till, from lake, sea and ocean,
Mountain and woody dell,
Is heard, with glad emotion,
Division’s passing-bell.
V.
So she hears, not in words, but in spirit, the changeful tale of the past,
As she leans to the sun with veins that are blue like the
blue of the sky,
Hears with a smile on her lips that the demon Division is cast
Into the river of death, as a monster worthy to die.
VI.
And she hears many tongues of men, that are singing as one in her praise,
Calling her, all, by one name, a name that is noble and old,
Singing a pæan of joy for the light of the gladdest of days,
Making a noise of thanksgiving for union more precious than gold.
VII.
1.
Canada, Canada, land of the maple,
Queen of the forest and river and lake,
Open thy soul to the voice of thy people,
Close not thy heart to the music they make.
Bells, chime out merrily,
Trumpets, call cheerily,
Silence is vocal, and sleep is awake!
2.
Canada, Canada, land of the beaver,
Labour and skill have their triumph to-day;
Oh! may the joy of it flow like a river,
Wider and deeper as time flies away.
Bells, chime out merrily,
Trumpets, call cheerily,
Science and industry laugh and are gay.
3.
Canada, Canada, land of the snow-bird,
Emblem of constancy change cannot kill,
Faith, that no strange cup has ever unsobered,
Drinketh, to-day, from love’s chalice her fill.
Bells, chime out merrily,
Trumpets, call cheerily,
Loyalty singeth and treason is still!
4.
Canada, Canada, land of the bravest,
Sons of the war-path, and sons of the sea,
Land of no slave-lash, to-day thou enslavest
Millions of hearts with affection for thee.
Bells, chime out merrily,
Trumpets, call cheerily,
Let the sky ring with the shout of the free.
5.
Canada, Canada, land of the fairest,
Daughters of snow that is kissed by the sun,
Binding the charms of all lands that are rarest,
Like the bright cestus of Venus in one!
Bells, chime out merrily,
Trumpets, call cheerily,
A new reign of beauty on earth is begun!
VIII.
1.
The ocean has kissed her feet
With cool, soft lips that smile,
And his breath is wondrously sweet
With the odours of many an isle.
2.
He has many a grand old song
Of his grand, old fearless kings;
And the voice from his breast is strong,
As he sings and laughs as he sings.
3.
Though often his heart is sad
With the weight of the gray-haired days
That were once as light and as glad
As the soul of a child that plays.
4.
But to-day at Canada’s feet,
He smiles, as when Venus was born,
And the breath from his lips is as sweet
As the breath of wet flowers at morn.
IX.
1.
The mountains raise their faces
Up to the face of God;
They are fresh with balmy graces
And with flowers their feet are shod.
2.
In their soul is a noise of gladness,
Their veins swell out with song,—
With a feathery touch of sadness,
Like a dream of forgotten wrong.
3.
They have set their song to the metre
Of the bright-eyed summer days,
And our Land, to-day they greet her,
With lips that are red with praise.
X.
1.
Lake is calling to lake
With a ripply, musical sound,
As though half afraid to awake
The storm from his sleep profound.
2.
The hem of their garments is gay
With gardens that look to the south;
And the smile of the dawn of to-day
Has touched them on bosom and mouth.
XI.
The rivers have gladly embraced,
And carry the joy of the lakes,
Past mountain and island and waste,
To where the sea’s laughter outbreaks.
XII.
And sea and lake and mountain,
And man and beast and bird—
Our happy Land’s life fountain—
By one great voice are stirred.
Bells chime out merrily,
Trumpets call cheerily,
Cannons boom lustily,
Greet the glad day!
Rose-wreath and fleur-de-lys,
Shamrock and thistle be
Joined to the maple tree
Now and for aye!