AUCKLAND FROM MOUNT EDEN.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 428, 14 December 1889, Page 6

AUCKLAND FROM MOUNT EDEN.

Oh ! wert thou here, sweet Bard, of gifted song, Illustrious Byron, who amidst the throng Of England's poets in these later days Hath won pre-eminence in deathless lays ! How would thy magic fingers strike the lyre That Alpine grandeur once did so inspire? How would thy spirit tranced in poet-glee Sing this fair isle— this Eden of the sea? These skies are fair, yea, lair as those which dome The wondrous relics of almighty Rome, Land of bright song ; or where in Grecian isles The wealth of an eternal summer smiles. Lo ! from this Mount as lonely no w L stray A glorious panorama I survey, Lapped in the charm of an Eljsian spring Where God is seen in every phase I sing. Afar the Wai tern ata's blue expanse, Just kissed by gentlest breezes that advance Curling the listless wavejets that expand In creamy ripples on the rocky strand ; Or tossing in their arms each lightsome skifF that glides beneath the darkly-frowning clifF; Wears in its aspect, ruffled or serene, The gem unique of this attractive scene. Afar i see in gloomy grandeur rise Wmtakcrei's rangi.sto my gladdened eyes, Shiel .ing, as though with a defiant pride, The myriad beauties that are here descried. -But for -a moment fancy roves at will Ho the coy glens and heights of Helensville And other towns ips, each with some delight Or special interest in another's sight. Turn where I may, the prospect far and near . Invites the Muse to adoration here. Whether the vision lingers to discern The form of Rangitoto, wild and stern ; Or lesser heights, alt verdurous as I pen, The enamelled mead, or the sequestered glen, The sheeted silver of the placid lake, The winding roads, circuitous in make. A thousand dwellings spreading far and wide, I now behold with soul-exulting pride ; Mansion and lawn and villa coyly sweet, And cosy cottages, so fair to greet, Are here outspread o cr fairy rise and dell, From beauteous Remuera to Farnell ! In numerous gardens, teeming, as I sing, With floral trophies of triumphant spring, How pretty are the clumps of pines and firs. Scarce the luxurious breeze to motion stirs. How picturesque the stately fanes appear With all that smiles in soft resplendence here. The only sounds that haunt this tranquil spot Are the sharp clashings of the rifle's shot, Or merry laughterof some children bent On harmless mischief in their merriment, Or tuneful larks or songsters twittering sweet Amid the affluent foliage hid secrete. T am alone, yet no dull thoughts intrude. For this lo mo cannot be solitude"; This may exist in crowded cities, where Pleasure means heartless gaiety and glare. But while pure thoughts and radiant fancies rise To charm my spirit with some glad surprise I cannot be alone. The angel. c Muse My soul to her most sacred friendship woos. Guiding my fingers o'er the lyie along. Teaching me something of her deathless song. But as J now descending take my way With the faint glances of expiring day, I see perchance some lovers 'neath the shade Of trees that have a coy seclusion made. I do not seek it, bat mine eyes have caught With intuition of poetic thought The guileless happiness so well expressed In eyes where love's dear secret may be guessed. Her face is fair— but so in sooth was hers That now the shadowy realm of memory stirs, Forcing me even now against my will To other scenes endeared and sacred, still. Three toilsome, uneventful years have passed In rnstic isolation since I last Beheld her face, with youthful exace replete. And listened to her voice in accents sweet, And gazed into her eyes of sapphire blue Where love was radiant to my raptured view. Her peerless kisses haunt me as I write With all the ardour of intense delight; Often we roved in selt-same haunts Jikc these Beneath the umbrage of majestic trees, Listening the birds whose love-song sweet and clear Fell lightly on the inattentive eai\ Oh ! fair Zealandia ! my adopted home. Though from afar my wandering feet have come, From that famed land still sweetly, sadly dear To those her countrymen self-exiled here, Yet she in all her spring or summer grace Boasts not such loveliness as here I trace. Long may thy sons regard with sacred pride This favoured realm whatever may betide. Long may thy daughters, innocently fair, Love the b-ight clime to me beyond conroare ; And as their all-prevailing charms, in sooth, Awake to transport the admiring youth I May all the outward graces be allied To virtue, purity of heart and pridePride in the hallowing influence they possess, That none could ever rightly wish it less. When beauty charms, and, with an air refined, The higher beauty of the cultured mind Appears in all its dignity and worth Who coiild or would, I ask, desire- on earth Companionship so dear, so sweet as this' That yields the foretastes of angelic bliss? And, oh ! I trust on these delightful shores Some gifted bard, like him my heart adores, May strike the lyre, Zealandia, in thy praise, ■ And thus enshrine thee in immortal lays : Strains that will touch the hearts of all who share Thy loveliness to me beyond compare, Or he, fair Scotland's bard, 1 do revere ; For is there not a scope sufficient here To charm, exalt, and fittingly inspire The loftiest efforts of the poet's lyre 1 And though, perchance. T can at best but raise My voice in feeble, unattractive lays, I would not willingly be silent here To pay some tribute of my lo\ c sincere. Thus, in a word, may God's rich blessing r€st On these fair isles, the loveliest and the best.

A. W. Hurry. Ponsonby, December 2nd, 1889.