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THE VOYAGE OF LIFE.
Answers the angel, in low, deep tones,"'Tis the mirage that reflecteth thereForms in the islands of Hope beyond.Soon thou, O Youth! shalt behold those islesBathed in the sunlight's eternal glow,Beautiful realm of a goddess bright."Noble and high is the soul of Youth;Proud is the light in his flashing eye;Thus does he speak to his angel guide:"Why, gentle angel, so long thy stay?Strong is my spirit, nor asks thine aid;O'er these bright waves let me guide my bark."Now, with admiring yet tearful gazeFixed on the youth, doth the angel speak:"Mariner out on the sea of Time,Bound for Eternity's distant shores,Take thou this oar, for I wing my flightFar to my home in the starry spheres."Now from the heavens a golden cloudOver the bark like a light descends;Lo! then the angel, with wings outspread,Floats on that cloud to the realms above.
Soon then the youth, with his eager gazeFixed on those forms the mirage hath traced,Plunging his oar in the dashing tide,Hurries his bark to the isles of Hope.
