Page:Songs from the Southern Seas and Other Poems (1873).djvu/174

170 Friends she had, rich in her treasures:
 * Shall the old taunt be true,—

Fallen, they turn their cold faces, Seeking new wealth-gilded places,
 * Saying we never knew

Aught of her smiles or her pleasures?

Silent she stands on the prairie.
 * Wrapped in her fire-scathed sheet:

Around her, thank God! is the Nation, Weeping for her desolation,
 * Pouring its gold at her feet,

Answering her "Miserere!"

O broad-breasted Queen among Nations!
 * O Mother, so strong in thy youth!

Has the Lord looked upon thee in ire, And willed thou be chastened by fire,
 * Without any ruth?