posed to erect "in commemoration of the first settlement of New Hampshire," because it is the place where Thomson, the leader in the enterprise, and his associates, first touched its soil; and that Dover Neck, on the site of the first meeting-house erected in the State, is also entitled to a monument in commemoration of that fact as well as that contemporaneous with the settlement at Little Harbor, or very soon thereafter, a portion of the same company established themselves in that vicinity.
Begemmed upon old ocean's breast,
Where peaceful billows swell,
Lie the feigned islands of the blest,
Where souls departed dwell.
There, in that clime, forever bright,
The sun, with equal ray.
Illuminates the tranquil night,
And gilds the cloudless day.
There, hero-shades with joy possess
An ever-pleasing home;
A seat, exempt from all excess,
Where pain can never come.
There, fields of asphodel and balm
And roses bloom for aye;
There, naught can mar the soul's sweet calm,
And love finds no decay.
There, where enchanting beauty teems
In exquisite delight,
'Mid citron groves, by crystal streams,
Walk chiefs of former might.
There, never-chilly winds prevail,
Or snow, white-drifting, lies;
No stormy blast, no rain or hail,
No burning from the skies.
There, fragrant breezes, balmy airs.
Pure offspring of the main.
Sweep from the isles corroding cares.
And fan the lovely plain.
There, smiling fields afar extend,
In living verdure, new;
There, trees with fruits ambrosial bend.
With flowers of every hue.
There, Rhadamanthus rules in trust
The realm of beings, blest;
The brave, the noble, and the just,
They own his high behest.
They, who in truth and virtue strong,
From guilt's contagion, pure.
Did ever keep their lives from wrong.
Rest in that clime secure.
There, with the honored gods, whose ear
The faithful vow attest.
They dwell, and pass from year to year,
Their tearless age of rest.
They, who were once o'er fraught with care.
And bowed beneath the load.
No burdens more their spirits bear,
In that their last abode.
And they whose weary days were spent
In penury and pain;
In sore disease or discontent,
In hardship or disdain;
And they, who were by scorn and pride
Down-trodden and oppressed,
In joyfulness they there abide,
Where foes cannot molest.
And shades of men, the wise and good,
Both old and young, are there;
Matrons and blooming womanhood,
And youths, unwed and fair.
No hurt or ill that trouble yields
Can reach that peaceful shore,
But in the sweet Elysian fields
Is bliss forevermore.
