The Salzburg Chimes
Henry Alford
SWEETLY float o’er town and tower
Strains that mark the dawning hour;
Soothing, as it glides along,
Yon fair stream with tinkling song:
Over vineyard, rock, and wood,
And where ancient bastion stood,
Heralds now of peaceful times,
Sweetly float the Salzburg chimes.
Once again,—from this green hill
Echo lets no leaf be still;
Once again,—the Salza’s breast
Gives the welling sounds no rest:
Distant in the spreading plain
Mount and tower take up the strain,
Till in yonder Alpine climes
Herdsmen catch the Salzburg chimes.
Yet once again! the merry merry child
Dances to the melody with gambols wild;
Yet once more! the sentry stern
Paces to the time at every turn:
E’en the sick on painful bed
Lifts in hope his weary head,
And hoary elders bless the times
When first they heard the Salzburg chimes.
Yet once more! ere noonday rise,
Part our steps for other skies;
Yet once more! in memory’s ear
Still shall sound that music clear;
And in England’s homes of light,
When the cheerful hearth is bright,
Will we, in far distant climes,
Wake the slumbering Salzburg chimes.
