Nora Pembroke

A Prize Poem.


I know Canada is fair to see, and pleasant; it is well
On the banks of its broad river 'neath the maple trees to dwell;
But the heart is very wilful, and in sorrow or in mirth,
Mine will turn with sore love-longing to the land that gave me birth;
And I wish that, oh but once again! my longing eyes might see
The green island that lies smiling on the bosom of the sea;
That is fed with heaven's dew and the fatness of the earth,
Fanned by wild Atlantic breezes that sweep over it in mirth.

Its green robe is starred with daisies; it is brilliant fresh and fair,
With a verdure that no other spot of earth affords to wear.
It has banks of pale primroses that like bits of moonlight glow;
There are hawthorn hedges blossomed out like drifts of perfumed snow,

My brother George has gone from me,
Far away o'er the trackless sea.
His gladdening voice I hear not now,
I see not the light of his sunny brow.
My cheeks with lonely tears are wet;
But go where he will he will love me yet.
O Thou whose blessings the heart enlarge,
Keep from all evil my brother George!

1842.

In leaving us, whom thou hast governed well
    Holding the helm of state through all these years
The land at large unites in a farewell
    That's mingled with regret akin to tears

My Lord, we welcomed you in coming here
    As one our gracious Queen thought fit to send
Your term of office hath so made you dear
    We say farewell to you as friend to friend

It is not homage paid to honours worn
    Lightly, as that which comes to one unsought;
Nor to thy high desent, oh nobly born
    Nor to the aristocracy of thought.

And yet we do not undervalue here
    Honours the nobles of our land enjoy;
We hold in high esteem the British Peer,
    Warm to the ancient name of Clandeboye.

Warmly we feel to one who is akin
    To that most mar...

(A. S.) 1845.


We met--he was a stranger,
    His foot was free to roam;
I was a simple maiden,
    Who had never left my home.

He was a noble scion
    Of the green Highland pine,
To a strange soil transplanted,
    Far from his native clime

And well his bearing pleased me,
    For I had never seen
Keener eye, or smile more sunlit,
    Or more dignity of mien.

His brow was fair and lofty,
    Bright was his clustering hair;
I marvelled that to other eyes
    He seemed not half so fair

His it was to plead with men,
    With "Thus my Lord hath said;"
He stood God's messenger between
    The living and the dead

When I heard how earnestly
    His pleading message ran,
I said, "Here God ha...

Beside the open window she is lying,
    Through which comes softly in the balmy air,
And fans her wasted cheek; but slowly dying,
    She seeth not that autumn's finger fair
    Tinges the golden landscape everywhere.

She seeth not the glory of the maples,
    That in their crimson robes surround her home;
Nor the rich red of the ripe clustering apples
    In the old orchard, where can never come
    Her flying feet to stoop and gather some.

That is her home where in life's young May morning,
    She careless sung the joyful hours away;
A happy-hearted child, to whom no warning
    Came of the future shipwreck by the way,
    Or of the worshipped idol turned to clay.

The place has passed to strangers; unregretting,
    She looks upon the hom...

Mournfully, mournfully
    All around me are crying,
For my dark-eyed baby boy
    Is dying, dying

Tenderly, tenderly
    To him I am clinging,
But he slips from my fond arms,
    Death bells are ringing

Joyfully, joyfully
    Angels are receiving
My babe--by the empty cot
    I must sit grieving.

The heavens look down with chilly frown,
The sun blinks oot wi' watery e'e,
The drift flies fast upon the blast,
The naked trees moan shiveringly.

The sun is gone, by mists withdrawn,
Muffling his head in snow-clouds grey,
The earth turns white, against the night,
The laden winds drive furiously.

The flowers are slain that graced the plain,
The earth is locked wi' bitter frost;
And my heart cries to stormy skies
After the dreary loved and lost.

The spring will come, the flowers will bloom,
The leaves in beauty clothe the tree,
But never more, oh, never more,
Will my lost darling come to me.

Beyond the skies her happy eyes
Look fearlessly in eyes Divine;
The bitter smart, the hungry heart,
Waiting with empty arms, is mine.

(To Miss E E.)


I cannot write, my tears are flowing fast,
    Yet weeping is unnatural to me;
Oh! that this hour of bitterness was past--
    The parting hour with all I love and thee

If I had never met or loved thee so,
    To part would not have caused me this sharp pain;
Parting so oft occurring here below,
    And they who part so seldom meet again.

Yet over land or sea, where'er I go,
    My home, my friends, shall flit before my eyes--
And oft I anxiously shall wish to know,
    If in thy bosom thoughts of me arise.

Oh, I will think of bygone days of glee,
    Though on each point of bitter sorrow driven;
I will not bid thee to remember me,
    But oh! see to it that we meet in Heaven.

1844.

Do you know the town Pembroke so loyal and long
And so worthy the praise of a poet in song?
Nestled down by the lake shore, that ripples and shines,
And hemmed in by the hills with their crowning of pines.
Now this town is that town so wondrous and fair,
Long thought to be but a chateau in the air,
Where the sons are all brave and the daughters all fair.

You may guess what great gladness there rang down the street,
Where the wise and the witty so neighbourly meet,
To compare their opinions to hear something new,
As their friends the Athenians of old used to do,
When the news was to all so gracious and good,
"There is coming to see us a Prince of the blood."
Then all our good people grew loyalty wild
To show love for the Queen as they welcomed her child.
Strai...

There is a gladness over all the earth,
For summer is abroad in breezy mirth,
Nature rejoices and the heavens are glad,
And I alone am desolate and sad,
For I sit mourning by an empty cot,
Refusing comfort because one is not.

And I will mourn because I am bereaved,
Others have suffered others too have grieved
Over hopes broken even as mine are broke,
By a swift unexpected bitter stroke,
And I must weep as weeping Jacob prest,
To grieving lips his last ones princely vest

You tell me cease weeping, to resign
Unto the Father's a will this will of mine,
You say my lamb is on the Shepherd s breast,
My flower blooms in gardens of the blest,
I know it all I say, Thy will be done
Yet I must mourn for him--my son! my son!

In the midst of Life we are in Death.


What is it that has stilled the usual hurry,
    Checking the eager tread of rapid feet?
Why does the business face look sad and sorry
    Within the place where merchants choose to meet?
A something not unusual or strange,
One face is missing on the Corn Exchange.

Alas! they say he had uncommon merit,
    High the esteem and confidence he won;
He brought to business life a joyous spirit,
    And mixed commercial tact with boyish fun.
We miss his breezy laugh, his pleasant face,
The skill that marked him for the foremost place.

There is a ship steaming across the billow,
    That should have brought him to his mother's knee;
Did warning dreams hover around her pillow,
    Of the dear face she never ...

(ISABELLA STEWART)


Heart of mine, by thy quick beating,
    Thou knowest Isabel is near,
And the gladness of the greeting
    Dims my eye with rapture's tear.
Heart of mine, each beat will tell
How I love young Isabel.

When I first beheld the maiden,
    So fair to see, so sweet to bless,
I, a stranger, sorrow laden,
    Arrested by her loveliness,
Then I thought some hand would set,
On that brow a coronet.

She had grace all hearts beguiling,
    She had the wealth of silken hair,
And sweet lips, half proud, half smiling,
    Neck of snow and bosom fair,
And each eye a sapphire gem
For a monarch's diadem

Oh, she was peerless in her beauty,
    Like the fair moon she walked alone,
And loving her was but a d...

Who is the maid with silken hair
    By clear Maine Water roaming?
For the fairy Queen is not so fair
    As she in the lonely gloaming

It is sweet Mysie of Bellee,
    John Millar's lovely daughter;
She is waiting where the old elm tree
    Droops over the sweet Maine Water.

"The trysting time has come and past,
    The day is fast declining;
Oh my true love, are you coming fast,
    For the star of love is shining?"

"The moon is bright, the ford is safe,
    The market folks crossed over;
Oh, come to me, it is wearing late,
    And I wait for thee, my lover.

"I fear me there will be a storm,
    The clouds, with murky fingers,
Are muffling the stars o'er far Galgorm,
    Where my own true lover lingers."

She ...

(WALTER AND FREDDIE.)


From morn to eve, from evening unto morning,
    I mourn and cannot rest;
So mourns the mother bird when home returning
    She finds an empty nest.

I mourn the little children of my dwelling,
    That are forever gone,
Sorrows that mothers feel my heart is swelling,
    And so I make my moan.

One little blossom on my bosom faded,
    And passed from me away,
But near my door the drooping willows shaded
    My little boys at play

My boys that came with flying feet to meet me,
    And questions wondrous wise,
And bits of news which they had brought to greet me,
    And see my glad surprise

Bitter for sweet no human hand can alter
    Nor bid one sorrow pass,
With sudden stroke our darling ...

They will place a bridal wreath, maiden,
    To crown all your shining hair;
The mist-like cloud of the bridal veil
    Will float round a face most fair.

They will dress you in bridal robes, maiden,
    And the holy words be said,
And the ring put on and two made one,
    And the maiden we love be wed.

You'll give him your virgin hand, maiden,
    And become a wedded wife;
That hand will mingle "honey for two"
    To sweeten the bitter of life.

They will give you costly gifts, maiden,
    And many a wish beside
Will rise in prayer in blessings come down
    On thy head O fair young bride

And kind will the bridegroom be maiden
    True and tender as years roll on
Who learns to love in the school of Christ
    Will cherish...

We honour Brother Jonathan,
    For what he has done and dared;
Nobly and firmly he hath stood
    His freeborn rights to guard.

And when we see him, go ahead,
    We are not with envy vexed;
We wish him all prosperity
    Yet will not be annexed.

We know he has much moral force;
    Much that is good and great;
Much enterprise and energy,
    Which we would imitate.

But there's upon his scutcheon stains,
    Which we lament to see;
And will not share--will not annex--
    Our soil and air are free--

And far more glorious is the flag
    Which o'er the Briton waves,
Than that whose stars of freedom shine
    Upon the stripes of slaves.

We love our Queen--we love our laws;
    We feel that we are free--

A withered shamrock, yet to me 'tis fair
    As the sweet rose to other eyes might be,
Because its leaves spread in my native air,
    And the same land gave birth to it and me.

They were as plentiful as drops of dew
    In our green meadows sprinkled everywhere,
Heedless I wandered o'er them life was new,
    Now as a friend I greet thee shamrock fair

Because I dwelt with my own people then,
    Erin's bright eyes, and kindly hearts and true,
That from my cradle loved me, and again
    We'll never meet--spoken our last adieu

I am a stranger here, I have not seen
    One friendly face of all that I have known,
And my heart mourns for thee my island green,
    Because I am a stranger and alone

So thou art welcome as a friend to me,
...

Is it well with the child? and she answered, it is well.


If earth's weariness for rest is changed,
    Rest on the far off shore,
If earth's sighing's changed for singing
    Psalms of praise for evermore.

And the bed of pain for roaming free,
    Beneath the living trees,
Whose leaves of healing wither not
    In any earthly breeze.

And to mix with those who, robed and crowned,
    Walk by the crystal sea;
To gather with the other lambs
    Beside the Saviour's knee.

We will keenly miss our absent child;
    Lonely tears our loss will tell,
But His voice says, "It is well with her,
    We answer, "It is well."

It is well to know that safely home
    Is this our dearest one;
To know she's with the children fai...