Page:Song of Hiawatha (1855).djvu/298

288 Cried aloud and spake in this wise:

"Beautiful is the sun, O strangers,

When you come so far to see us!

All our town in peace awaits you,

All our doors stand open for you;

You shall enter all our wigwams,

For the heart's right hand we give you.

"Never bloomed the earth so gayly,

Never shone the sun so brightly,

As to-day they shine and blossom

When you come so far to see us!

Never was our lake so tranquil,

Nor so free from rocks and sand-bars;

For your birch canoe in passing

Has removed both rock and sand-bar!

"Never before had our tobacco

Such a sweet and pleasant flavor,

Never the broad leaves of our corn-fields

Were so beautiful to look on,

As they seem to us this morning,