Iv

The cataracts wild leap, turned glittering ice In shame's suspension, and crow souls afeeding Upon a huge dead body and fast breeding,-- Is, as a scene, not worth the railroad's price; But, oh, if, with "Excelsior" for device, Thou climb thy Alpine way, each day exceeding The other's height, what throngs would watch thy speeding And, for the thrill thou woulds't give them, come twice!

O Canada! why all this sleigh-bell rhyming? 'Tis on the reindeer, hope, in speed with me To the grand morning, when thou shalt breathe free Upon the apex of thine Alpine climbing, From foulsome, choaking smells of tyranny, Thick from the Great Sea Serpent's inland sliming.