As these are gathering the rarest of gems, Others are plucking the rarest of stems. They range wild dells where the zephyr alone, To the blushing blossoms before was known; Through forests they fly, whose branches are hung By creeping plants, with fair flowerets strung, Where temples of nature with arches of bloom, Are lit by the moonlight, and faint with perfume. They stray where the mangrove and clematis twine, Where azalia and laurel in rivalry shine; Where, tall as the oak, the passion-tree glows, And jasmine is blent with rhodora and rose. O'er blooming savannas and meadows of light, 'Mid regions of summer they sweep in their flight, And gathering the fairest, they speed to their bower, Each one with his favorite brilliant or flower. VIII. The hour is come, and the fairies are seen In their plunder arrayed on the moonlit green. The music is breathed--'tis a soft strain of pleasure, And the light giddy throng whirl into the measure. [Illustration: The Fairy Dance] 'Twas a joyous dance, and the dresses were bright, Such as never were known till that famous night; For the gems and the flowers that shone in the scene, O'ermatched the regalia of princess and queen. No gaudy slave to a fair one's brow Was the rose, or the ruby, or emerald now, But lighted with souls by the playful elves, The brilliants and blossoms seemed dancing themselves. IX. Of all that did chance, 'twere a long tale to tell, Of the dresses and waltzes, and who was the belle; But each was so happy, and all were so fair, That night stole away and the dawn caught them there! Such a scampering never before was seen, As the fairies' flight on that island green. They rushed to the bay with twinkling feet, But vain was their haste, for the moonlight fleet Had passed with the dawn, and never again Were those fairies permitted to traverse the main. But 'mid the groves, when the sun was high, The Indian marked with a worshipping eye, The HUMMING BIRDS, all unknown before, Glancing like thoughts from flower to flower, And seeming as if earth's loveliest things, The brilliants and blossoms, had taken wings: And Fancy hath whispered in numbers light, That these are the fairies who danced that night, And linger yet in the garb they wore, Content in our clime and more blest than before! [Illustration: Indians' discovery of the Humming Birds] Lake Superior. [Illustration: Lake Superior] Father of Lakes! thy waters bend, Beyond the eagle's utmost view, When, throned in heaven, he sees thee send Back to the sky its world of blue. Boundless and deep the forests weave Their twilight shade thy borders o'er, And threatening cliffs, like giants, heave Their rugged forms along thy shore.