RIVERS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume V, Issue 10, 12 January 1870, Page 3

RIVERS.

Ye rivers which flow with silvery glow All over the earth, Of boundless extent and measureless worth, Fed by streamlets and rills, from mountains and And well-springs, away [hills, In wilderness wilds, where men never stray. Roll on in your might, unquenchably bright, Still cleaving your course Through rock-guarded glens, with pliable force And sinuous sweep, or cataract leap Into chasms below, And flinging up foaming billows of snow. Through prairies and woods, in winterly hoods, Mid iceberg and drift, Your passage is onward, cheery and swift, Through deserts and plains, where solitude reigns Unpeopled and drear, Sweet life-giving rivers are carolling near. In jungle and bush, rivers ripple and gush, And noiselessly glide. With flower-spangled banks in bloom at their side; Or in fathomlesF, deep, irresistible sweep, Througn forests and isles, Majestic, rush on for thousands of miles ! For thousands of miles Mississippi uncoils, And gracefully bends, And commerce and wealth on her bosom extends, And silver and gold in value untold From rivers we gain, As fleets from all lands sail on to the main. 'Mid battle and strife, still teeming with life For ever renewed. . Bright coral and gems and diamonds star-hued. Ye rivers divine, still glisten and shine O'er our earthly abode, For the blessing of man, and the glory of God. For his glory designed, and the good of mankind, While brotherly love Makes rivers below like rivers above. Let good-will increase, on these highways of peace As each flag is unfurled. . Till the red-cross waves all over the world. Sweet rivers which flow with silvery glow O'er the beautiful earth, O carry the news of Jesus's birth ! On your waves be it spread, and triumphantly Until jubilee songs [sped Of freedom break forth from millions of tongues. Mountfield, Sept. 18. Benjamin Gough.