Cameos of American History - Ponce de Leon

A story of Ponce de Leon,
A voyager, withered and old,
Who came to the sunny Antilles,
In quest of a country of gold.

He was wafted past islands of spices,
As bright as the Emerald seas,
Where all the forests seem singing,
So thick were the birds on the trees

The sea was as clear as the azure,
And so deep and so. pure was the sky
That the jasper-walled city seemed shining
Just out of the reach of the eye.

By day his light canvas he shifted,
And rounded strange harbors and bars;
By night, on the full tides he drifted,
'Neath the low-hanging lamps of the stars.

Near the glimmering gates of the sunset,
In the twilight empurpled and dim,
The sailors uplifted their voices,
And sang to the Virgin a hymn.

"Thank the Lord!" said De Leon, the sailor,
At the close of the rounded refrain;
" Thank the Lord, the Almighty, who blesses
The ocean-swept banner of Spain!

The shadowy world is behind us,
The shining Cipango before;
Each morning the sun rises brighter
On ocean, and island, and shore.

And still shall our spirits grow lighter,
As prospects more glowing unfold;
Then on, merry men! to Cipango,
To the West, and the regions of gold!"

There came to De Leon, the sailor,
Some Indian sages, who told
Of a region so bright that the waters
Were sprinkled with islands of gold.

And they added: "The leafy Bimini,
A fair land of grottos and bowers,
Is there ; and a wonderful fountain
Upsprings from its gardens of flowers.
 
That fountain gives life to the dying,
And youth to the aged restores;
They flourish in beauty eternal,
Who set but their foot on its shores!"
 
Then answered De Leon, the sailor:
"I am withered, and wrinkled, and old;
I would rather discover that fountain
Than a country of diamonds and gold."

Away sailed De Leon, the sailor,
Away with a wonderful glee,
Till the birds were more rare in the azure,
The dolphins more rare in the sea;

Away from the shady Bahamas,
Over waters no sailor had seen,
Till again on his wondering vision
Rose clustering islands of green.

Still onward he sped till the breezes
Were laden with odors, and lo!
A country embedded with flowers,
A country with rivers aglow!
 
More bright than the sunny Antilles,
More fair than the shady Azores.
"Thank the Lord!" said De Leon, the sailor,
As feasted his eye on the shores,

"We have come to a region, my brothers,
More lovely than earth, of a truth;
And here is the life-giving fountain, —
The beautiful fountain of youth."

Then landed De Leon, the sailor,
Unfurled his old banner, and sung;
But he felt very wrinkled and withered,
All around was so fresh and so young.

The palms, ever verdant, were blooming,
Their blossoms e'en margined the seas;
O'er the streams of the forests, bright flowers
Hung deep from the branches of trees.

"'Tis Easter," exclaimed the old sailor;
His heart was with rapture aflame;
And he said: "Be the name of this region
As Florida given to fame.