[Written In Du Chaillu’s Viking Age.]
WHAT has been stolen from time’s jealous hand,—
A newer Greece washed by the Baltic’s tide
Where fire of Northern genius burned and died;
Where long-dethronèd gods ruled o’er the land
And warriors fought with sword and threatening brand?
Was it these rugged shores that once defied
The world as it was known to them and tried
Adventurous keels on many an unknown strand?
Parents of mighty nations, kings of the sea!
Fair-haired, strong-limbed path-blazers of the deep!
How full a life was theirs, how broad and free,—
Passing one day Gibraltar’s tropic steep,
Seeking a while some Northern coast and drear,
Or sailing far to find the Western hemisphere!