"AYE MARIS STELLA."
[ know a village by the sen, On the wild const of lhittany, Whose tides, from out tho Northern deep Borne inwards with victorious sweep, Leap high with fur resounding shock, And seethe o'er many v sunken rock. I love, upon a summer day, To watch the sunlight on the Bay, While, on the cliff, while butterflies O'er broom and clover sink and rise, And perfume-laden breezes err Over wide fields of lavender. I love, at setting of tho sun i To mark the light* come one by one, To see the lighthouse lantern blaze, The boat-Umpa twinkle, and the rays From small uncurtained casement! glow In house* on the quay below. But most my spirits stir iv me, Touched to a fall humanity, When clear above the ocean's swell I hear the tinkling vesper bell; . And know that in the chapel dim They chant the ancient fisher hymn. The "Aye Maris Stella," there Sang to its old pathetic air, By tips of mothers, sihtors, wives, Pours out the patience of their lives, And sends to heaven th' eternal cry For succour and for sympathy. - In springtime, ero the crews go forth To brave the dangers of the North, They wait the blessing of the boats, And from a hundred stalwart throats The "Aye Maris Stella" soars, To clamour at celestial doors. And when the fleet is far away, though summer sunshine floods the bay, The woman-love that bides and waits 3till climbs in prayer to Heaven's gates, Knows both its weakness and its needs, And "Aye Maris Stella 1" pleads. And if mid autumn's mist and rain The barren, sea is scanned in vain, * And wives and mothers on the shore Look for a sail that conies no more, Still "Aye Maris Stella 1 1* rends the sky With faith's insistent agony. Oh Light all other lights above, Light of Immortal core and love, Well may the fishers build to thee Their chaps! by the sounding sea I Who more vould ever faco the wave. Had Earth no Heaven to make her brave! "Star of bh» S«a, all hail !" \re too, Dear Breton folk, must cry with you ; For what wore life in any clime But for th' Eternal beyond Timo — The Fixed above tho flux and flow Of ilk that come and joys that got And so the church beside the sea, On the wild coast of Brittany, Is more than broom and clover are, Or cliffs, or lights on harbour bar ; Aud thus it is I love so well The tinkle of its vespor bell. < 1 1 — A. Capes Tarbolton in tho Pall Mali Magazine.
"AYE MARIS STELLA."
Evening Post, Volume LXIV, Issue 47, 23 August 1902, Page 3 (Supplement)
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