82
THE RESCUE.
But God was merciful—we slept
Till the sun rose bright on high;
And then, O blessed Virgin!
The troops came riding by!
Till the sun rose bright on high;
And then, O blessed Virgin!
The troops came riding by!
They halt! we mount!—then far we rode
Through grove and cañon gray;
O'er the blinding sands of the weary waste
Where the tired streams sink away;
Till just as the sunset splendor
Was flooding plain and steep,
And the wind, like a waft of paradise,
Woke from its noonday sleep—
Oh, never, never can we forget
The joy of that glorious even—
We saw the fort, with its starry flag,
Fair as the gate of heaven!
And to the Lord Almighty,
Who rules and guides our days,
And the Saints, and the blessed Virgin,
We lift our hearts in praise!
Through grove and cañon gray;
O'er the blinding sands of the weary waste
Where the tired streams sink away;
Till just as the sunset splendor
Was flooding plain and steep,
And the wind, like a waft of paradise,
Woke from its noonday sleep—
Oh, never, never can we forget
The joy of that glorious even—
We saw the fort, with its starry flag,
Fair as the gate of heaven!
And to the Lord Almighty,
Who rules and guides our days,
And the Saints, and the blessed Virgin,
We lift our hearts in praise!
