Page:Scenes in my Native Land.pdf/38

34

Still thou art changed, my favorite scene! For man hath stolen thy cliffs between, And torn thy grassy sod, And bade the intrusive mill-wheel dash, And many a ponderous engine crash, Where Nature dreamed of God.

Yet to the spot, where first we drew Our breath, we turn unchanged and true, As to a nurse's breast; And count it, even till hoary age The Mecca of our pilgrimage, Of all the earth most blest.

And so, thou Cataract, strangely wild, My own loved Yantic's wayward child, That still dost foam and start; Though slight thou art, I love thee well, And pleased the lay thy praise doth tell, Which gushes from the heart.

Norwich, the semi-capital of the County of New London, is one of the most picturesque towns in New England. It has been said by travellers to exhibit strong features of resemblance to the scenery of Scotland. It is situated between three rivers, the Yantic, Shetucket, and Quinneboug, all of them wild and rapid, having their sources in a mountainous country,