Читать книгу Scandinavians on the Pacific, Puget Sound - Thomas Ostenson Stine - Страница 5

INTRODUCTION.

Viking brave on land or sea,

Dauntless hero of liberty,

While ages hang on bearded clay,

Among the great thy name shall sway.

Chroniclers shall paint thee in shades resplendent,

Thy fame as the pine shall sway independent,

Nations shall rise from lethargy old

To tune the feats of the Norsemen bold.

Suns of the South reflect thy rays,

They breathe thy prowess on wild-flying sprays,

But their light shall wane with ages to come,

The stars of the future shall pale proud Rome.

The foam-crest brine thy daring spells,

Thy wings have climbed impetuous swells,

In tempests wild o'er main afar,

Thy only guide the burning star.

Iceland and Greenland hast thou found,

With valor to thy honor crowned,

The Faroes in the salty deep,

And others that in the ocean sleep.

Thy scepter has on Sicily swayed,

Thy brawny arms with Albion played,

And Normandy to thy venture shines,

With royal courts and eglantines.

Beyond the sea maid's unkempt hair,

Lay forests rich and jewels rare,

Undreamt by kings of fame and power,

"For the shore," shouts Leif, "spite storm and shower."

Vinland for the Norseman brave,

honor he to his country gave,

Born with thee, an unknown strand,

America, sweet freedom's land.