Page:The Forest Sanctuary.pdf/145

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LAYS OF MANY LANDS.
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    And breathings from their sunny flowers,
        Which are not of the things that die,
    And singing voices from their bowers
        Shall greet thee in the purple sky;
Soft voices, e'en like those that dwell
Far in the green reed's hollow cell.

    Or hast thou heard the sounds that rise
        From the deep chambers of the earth?
    The wild and wondrous melodies
        To which the ancient rocks gave birth*[1]?
—Like that sweet song of hidden caves
Shall swell those wood-notes o'er the waves.

    The emerald waves!—they take their hue
        And image from that sunbright shore;
    But wouldst thou launch thy light canoe,
        And wouldst thou ply thy rapid oar,
Before thee, hadst thou morning's speed,
The dreamy land should still recede!

  1. ↑ * The stones on the banks of the Oronoco, called by the South American missionaries Laxas de Musica, and alluded to in a former note.
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