Page:A Treasury of South African Poetry.djvu/168

 SIMON VAN DER STEL. ever the Dutchman steered,
 * Southward with right good will;

No more the sea-worn sailor feared
 * The Cape of Table Hill.

No longer frowned the savage land
 * With famine fierce and fell,

For bounteous were the heart and hand
 * Of Simon van der Stel.

Not as the rest, for greed of spoil,
 * He ruled by Table Bay;

In new-built barn and seeded soil,
 * His little kingdom lay.

Cornfield and garden, oak and vine,
 * He loved and tended well.

"Who plants a tree is friend of mine,"
 * Quoth Simon van der Stel.

All in a pleasant vale was laid
 * The dorp that bears his name,

With bough of fruit and leaf of shade,
 * To bless the founder's aim.

Here oft he sat in simple state,
 * A kindly tale to tell;

And children kept the birthday fête
 * Of Simon van der Stel.