Image courtesy of the Library of Congress
[….]
Arriv‘d, at last, Niagara to scan,
He walks erect and feels himself a man ;
Surveys the cataract with a “critic‘s eye,”
Resolv‘d to pass no “imperfections by.”
Niag‘ra , wonder of the Deity.
Where God’s own spirit reigns in majesty.
With sullen roar the foaming billows sweep,
A world of waters thunders o‘er the steep :
The unmingled colours laugh upon the spray,
And one eternal rainbow gilds the day.
Oh ! glorious God ! Oh ! scene surpassing all !
“True, true,” quoth he , “‘tis something of a fall.”
[….]
Source: F.W. Shelton. The Trollopiad; or, Travelling gentlemen in America: a satire. New York: C. Shephard, 1837 [Shelton originally published with the author pseudonym Nil Admirari, Esq.]