A SUMMER'S HOLIDAY.

Observer, Volume 1, Issue 21, 5 February 1881, Page 208

A SUMMER'S HOLIDAY.

Where shall I linger ? With the racing crew Wielding the heavy oar >vith tireless finger, Or on the fathomless blue * Watching the white sails as they swell and flutter, Of yacht, or barque, of schooner, boat, or cutter. Hark to the welcoming slogan ! As in they slip, "Hattie May," " Kangatira," " Jessie Logan." All in the Observer's tip, Only one race he failed to spot, 'twas tlxis, The "Sovereign" (as she should) beat "Borealis." Or to the oval reaches So grandly whirl'd, Of glittering shell-bound beaches, Come — leave the world ! And idly leaning 'neath o'ershadowing trees Dream of the white twined arms of mortal Naiades ! Or to the distant hills, Come — to yon purple range Where the virgin forest grows and fills | The air with odours strange, And the hush, and the silence, the peace, and the calm Speak to our souls like a holy psalm J Come to the school feast gay, Come 'ere the sunbeams pass, And watch how the feet of the children at play, Trip in the new mown grass, How they laugh, and chatter, and race, and fall, With the curtains of love drawn round them all. But on land or sea, In the crowd or alone, Nature's loveliness blossomed unshrouded and free In that time, all her own Till that long, perfect, shadowless, unclouded day. Died, as happy dreams die in the morning away 1