The league of the Iroquois and other legends : from the Indian muse

THE BETTER LAND. 235
\Vith woods where endless Summer smiles,
That, robed in leafy fragrance stand
Year unto year ;
unmeasured miles
Of verdured plains, of billowy strand,
Of meadows wide in mantle green ;
Hills that on hills serenely shine,
With flowery vales far-stretched between.
That snowy tents make more divine,
Still looms and fades the Shining Land :
The mighty chiefs of noble fame
There, as of old, in Council stand ;
There, kindling with the kindling flame,
They wake again the lofty speech ;
But not to fire for mortal strife
The warrior's heart ;
Of Him who Master is of Life.
they, wiser, teach
And they that hearken do I see :
With faces like the morning lit,
Of braves a goodly company,
Along the sward they stand or sit ;
And there, more lovely, wife or maid,
In kirtle new, they sit or stand,
In mantle wove of wampum-braid,
And moccasins quilled and beaded grand.
31