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138

LAYS OF MANY LANDS.

—Let no vain dreams thy heart beguile.
Oh! seek thou not the Fountain-Isle!

    Lull but the mighty serpent king*^[1],
        'Midst the grey rocks, his old domain;
    Ward but the cougar's deadly spring,
        —Thy step that lake's green shore may gain;
And the bright Isle, when all is pass'd,
Shall vainly meet thine eye at last!

    Yes! there, with all its rainbow streams,
        Clear as within thine arrow's flight,
    The Isle of Founts, the Isle of dreams,
        Floats on the wave in golden light;
And lovely will the shadows be
Of groves whose fruit is not for thee!

↑ * The Cherokees believe that the recesses of their mountains, overgrown with lofty pines and cedars, and covered with old mossy rocks, are inhabited by the kings or chiefs of the rattlesnakes, whom they denominate the "bright old inhabitants." They represent them as snakes of an enormous size, and which possess the power of drawing to them every living creature that comes within the reach of their eyes. Their heads are said to be crowned with a carbuncle, of dazzling brightness.—See Notes to Leyden's "Scenes of Infancy."

[1] * The Cherokees believe that the recesses of their mountains, overgrown with lofty pines and cedars, and covered with old mossy rocks, are inhabited by the kings or chiefs of the rattlesnakes, whom they denominate the "bright old inhabitants." They represent them as snakes of an enormous size, and which possess the power of drawing to them every living creature that comes within the reach of their eyes. Their heads are said to be crowned with a carbuncle, of dazzling brightness.—See Notes to Leyden's "Scenes of Infancy."

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