THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXI, Issue 2433, 27 October 1866, Page 6

THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH.

July, ISG6. Tlic vision of the vanished age Becomes tho lord of this, •. When shadowy thought and wondrous fact Meet with a bridal kiss. In silent hours a thought from God Upon tho rapt soul gleams, '' ' And gives bright conquests to man's hands Beyond his wildest dreams. Four conturies have well-night passed Since Columbus, trustful, bravo, Followed the trembling needle Far across the unknown wave — • Wearily through long days groping Toward the unknown strand, Till the glorious morning broke, and brought The thrilling shout of " Land !" ' Thrice defeated, bufc not conquered, In her conflict -with the main, ! ■■• Science, with British hearts and hands, Shall try and try again ; And, lo ! tho waste of watci*s pierced, And the thousand dangers run, ' Tho magic marriage-ving is clasped j « . : That joina two worlds in one ! Trailing o'er ocean mountain, Ocean valley, ocean plain ; Through scenes unknown, mysterious, vast, Wanders tho wondrous chain ; Through the secrets of Old Clmos Tho flashing words shall flee, And the lightening of the heavens become The Spirit of tho Sea ! Tho Worker scorn tho Dreamer ? He is nobler than ho seems — i : The mightiest triumphs of mankind ' ■ Wore only once bufc dreams : • From the far-off" Pisgali mountain He descries the Promised Land, And tho great world gladly follows Whore it cannot understand. Speakers of a common language, Bearers of a common name, Joint-heirs to the old Mother's Great inheritance of fame, f It is well, although the rolling seas Children and mother part, . • Scionco can bring ye face to face, And, better, heart to heart. 1 For Science and her triumphs ' I hold but of meaner worth, But as she serves to bind in one I The peoples of tho earth ; Leads to truer, loftier life, and sends Through souls, from zone to zone, ' The electric thrill of prnyev and pvaiso To God's eternal throne. ,„ And tho Mother, old but stately, Feels all a mother's pride t In the children, now grown great and free, j J Once nourished by her side ; ' And though transient clouds may sometimes dim ! The j ust soul's clearer view, The child shall love the old homo, and prize '■'■' Tho old Mother's glories too. Here, encompassed by the mysteries ] Of ocean, earth, and sky, ■■ Man, tke crowning mystery, was not sent ; To eat, and sleep, and die ; v Not for mere material triumphs, • Nor ambition, ease, or pelf, But to win, by conquering nature, The empire of himself. * And tho crowning human glory, ■ The last reach of human skill, Is to trace its work with reverence" \' m 'To the high Almighty will; '** . ' ' To know the lowliest, loftiest powers To fleeting mortals given, : ' ' .Are sacred trusts for mankind, . ' And the delegates of Heaven. , ' Thus may the fleets of commerce, ,■' O'er tho seas that come and go, And the world-engirdling cable, I Buried in the depths below, . . Bear messages of love a,nd trust ; 'Through all the earth abroad, Till men own their common brotherhood, Their common Father, God !