100
LINES.
Now, no more thy noble stream
Sad and silent glides along;
Hail the kindly power of steam!
Thy banks present a busy throng.
The dawn of commerce breaks at last,
And shines upon thy silvery wave,
To heal the sorrows of the past,
And Erin's suffering land to save;
To make thy stream the noble source
Of blessings flowing through the isle;
To mark thy far, wide-spreading course
With peace and plenty's cheerful smile;
To burst the bonds of ignorance,
By poverty so firmly twined,
And raise with happy influence
At once the body and the mind.
For, as the light of knowledge spreads,
Religion follows in its train,
Soon casts away vain charms and beads,
And hails with joy the gospel reign.
Hail! Shannon, hail! this lovely land restore;
Bid famine, feuds, and discord waste no more.
Sad and silent glides along;
Hail the kindly power of steam!
Thy banks present a busy throng.
The dawn of commerce breaks at last,
And shines upon thy silvery wave,
To heal the sorrows of the past,
And Erin's suffering land to save;
To make thy stream the noble source
Of blessings flowing through the isle;
To mark thy far, wide-spreading course
With peace and plenty's cheerful smile;
To burst the bonds of ignorance,
By poverty so firmly twined,
And raise with happy influence
At once the body and the mind.
For, as the light of knowledge spreads,
Religion follows in its train,
Soon casts away vain charms and beads,
And hails with joy the gospel reign.
Hail! Shannon, hail! this lovely land restore;
Bid famine, feuds, and discord waste no more.
