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LINES ON THE MISSOURI RIVER.

I.

MISSOURI, Missouri, I gaze on thy stream,
And fancies thick rising enchant like a dream;
As thy restless, bold surges go foaming along,
I make thee the burden and theme of my song.

II.

Old records rehearse how the great son of Nun,
Made a famous address to the Moon and the Sun;
Thou Monarch of Rivers, no reason I see,

Why the bard may not dedicate stanzas to thee.

III.

From the snow-covered mountains piled up in the north,
Thy waves, like an army, come thundering forth;

A continent owns thy dominion, and brings

Thee her tribute from thousands of beautiful springs.

IV.

A wonderful empire by thee is possessed,

Thou strong and unparalleled son of the West;

No rival nor equal has dared thee oppose,

Since earth at creation from chaos arose.

V.

While Nineveh, Babylon, Athens, and Rome
Rose, flourished, and faded, and sunk to the tomb,
Thy beauties remain, and as youthful now seem
As when first the wild buffalo drank of thy stream.

VI.

In the deep and inscrutable counsels of God,

Thy realm lay concealed during ages of blood:

'Twas the will of high Heaven that thy plains should be free; No Nimrod or Cæsar e'er trampled on thee.

VII.

While bloodthirsty monarchs their banners unfurled,

And crushed groaning nations throughout the old world, The guardian of Israel, as at the Red Sea,

Kept a "pillar of cloud" betwixt tyrants and thee.

VIII.

But the long-promised mandate of Heaven comes now "Beat spears to a pruning-hook, swords to a plough;" And as the blest gospel diffuses its light,

Like Canaan to Moses thy plains come in sight.

IX.

To the eye of the prophet on Pisgah's high top,
First "Gilead," then "Ephraim," then "Judah" came up;
And thus in succession, before our glad eyes,

Thy rich and extended savannas arise.

X.

Missouri, Missouri, I view thee with pride :

What cities, what temples shall garnish thy side!

And to millions of millions a home thou'lt afford,

When the kingdoms of earth shall have turned to the Lord.

XI.

When Satan is bound, and the Spirit of God

Has established with men his perpetual abode,

From both thy long shores, from thy source to the main,
Hallelujahs shall rise to the Lamb that was slain.

XII.

When the wolf and the lamb shall lie down on the green,

And the trail of the serpent no longer is seen,

For the worship of God, on the sweet day of rest,

What assemblies shall meet on these plains of the West.

XIII.

Roll on, matchless river; thy grandeur display:
Though we who now view thee must soon pass away,
Thy restless, bold surges shall dash on thy shore,
Till the mighty archangel shouts, "TIME IS NO MORE!"