Poetry of and about Niagara Falls & the Niagara River – the waterfalls, the city, the history, the stunters, and everything else Niagara
‡‡Free! ay, as air,
Or as the stream that leaps the cataract,
And in eternal thunder shouts to heaven
That it is free, and will be free forever!
Source: Table Rock Album and Sketches of the Falls and Scenery Adjacent. Buffalo: Steam Press of Thomas and Lathrops, copyright by Jewett, Thomas & Co.,1856c.1848
This link takes you to the scanned version of the 1855 version of Table Rock Album from the Hathi Trust
See the Table of Contents of the Table Rock Album on this site.
Tell them I AM, Jehovah said:
Niagara’s waters heard with dread,
And smitten to the heart,
At once, above, beneath, around,
The Cataract, in thundering sound,
Replied ― “O Lord, THOU ART!”
Jos. H. Patten is from New York.
Source: Table Rock Album and Sketches of the Falls and Scenery Adjacent. Buffalo: Steam Press of Thomas and Lathrops, copyright by Jewett, Thomas & Co.,1856c.1848
This link takes you to the scanned version of the 1855 version of Table Rock Album from the Hathi Trust
See the Table of Contents of the Table Rock Album on this site.
At morn the rising God of day
‡‡Unveils this temple to our eyes ―
‡‡Incense ascending to the skies
Bids man his grateful homage pay
To God, at whose supreme command
‡‡The waters war, and dash, and leap,
‡‡And, thundering down this awful steep,
Whirl furiously along the strand
Below ― before three altars now,
‡‡We bend the knee ― three mighty Falls ―
‡‡Faint type of Him who on us calls
Before the Three in One to bow!
Source: Table Rock Album and Sketches of the Falls and Scenery Adjacent. Buffalo: Steam Press of Thomas and Lathrops, copyright by Jewett, Thomas & Co.,1856c.1848
This link takes you to the scanned version of the 1855 version of Table Rock Album from the Hathi Trust
See the Table of Contents of the Table Rock Album on this site.
I have gazed on nature — here — abroad,
‡‡I have wandered o’er the briny deep;
Of all thy works, Almighty God,
‡‡This is the greatest, this is the chief.
A roaring cataract, ever foaming, ever rushing,
‡‡Ever boiling, ever raging, ever roaring, ever gushing
From some great source, which I dare not tell,
‡‡It dashes madly down, as though to the very pit of hell.
Presumptuous man, you dare to write
‡‡Of nature’s works and the Great Architect of all!
Bend down thy knee, and revere His might,
‡‡Who formed this cataract, who made this fall.
Henry D. O’Reilly was from Dublin, Ireland.
It is possible that Henry D. O’Reilly was the Irish immigrant who was influential in the development of Rochester, New York, and in the development of the Erie Canal. O’Reilly was also active in publishing. Click here for more information on O’Reilly.
Source: Table Rock Album and Sketches of the Falls and Scenery Adjacent. Buffalo: Steam Press of Thomas and Lathrops, copyright by Jewett, Thomas & Co.,1856c.1848
This link takes you to the scanned version of the 1855 version of Table Rock Album from the Hathi Trust
See the Table of Contents of the Table Rock Album on this site.
‘Tis first a little disappointment,
‡‡And next a little wonder;
Then plenty of aquatic ointment,
‡‡And awful lots of thunder!
Source: Table Rock Album and Sketches of the Falls and Scenery Adjacent. Buffalo: Steam Press of Thomas and Lathrops, copyright by Jewett, Thomas & Co.,1856c.1848
This link takes you to the scanned version of the 1855 version of Table Rock Album from the Hathi Trust
See the Table of Contents of the Table Rock Album on this site.