THE OTAGAN FIORDS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2045, 4 May 1893, Page 39

THE OTAGAN FIORDS.

• Hear the musio of the waters, , Hear the dinging of the torrents Rushing through the narrow gorges, ' Leapirjg over granite ledges ! Hark ! the sounds are caught by ecno, ■ Hurled against the cliffs, and re-hurled , Into f oreßt depths to perish. ' See the stretch of sunlit water, Brighter than a shield of silver, Smoother than the gloss of feathers ; See the white peaks of the mountains Wrapped about in stagnant vapours ; See their shadows on the water, See their shadows on the margin, On the yellow sand, on shingle Where the white foam clusters thickly, Like thin wreaths of drifted snowflakes ! Ancient forests, green and sombre, Green in summer, green in winter, Cover high land, cover low land, Giving freshness to the landscape. Bird-song streams from out the woodland, " Mingling with the water music, Mingling with the gentle murmur Of the wind that waves the tree-tops. And beneath the swaying branches, Where the forest shade is deepest, Where the undergrowth is thickest, There, in all their native beauty, Fern trees live ; and wondrous mosses, Many coloured, hang in festoons ; While th« serpent shapes of creepers, Clinging to the hardy branches, Guard the treasures of the forest. When the golden haze of sunset , Fringes ev"ry mountain summit. When the night-breeze, cool and fragrant, Wanders in a land of shadows.— This the .tame for contemplation, When the light of day i« fading— This the time to study Nature, Here, alone, amidst her wonders. — Chaules Rule. Maori Hill, April 28.