Works

Poetry to us is given,
As stars beautify the Heaven,
Or, as the sunbeams when they gleam,
Sparkling so bright upon the stream,
And the poetry of motion
Is ship sailing o'er the ocean;...

Bacon, Hogg, Lamb and Shakespeare.

Bacon, philosopher profound,
With mighty thoughts his works abound,
Reflections did his mind engage
Were in advance of his own age.
...

The following lines were given at a concert when Port Burwell was a busy port and there had been a race on the ice the day before.


In winter time who here resort,
To pay a visit to your busy port,...

In winter time 'tis sad and dreary
For to gaze on stormy Erie,
But here in summer time this port
It is a fashionable resort,
For then it is always cheery
For to gaze upon Lake Erie.
...

Love it is the precious loom,
Whose shuttle weaves each tangled thread,
And works flowers of exquisite bloom,
Shedding their perfume where we tread.

Oft' times these handsome gentlemen appeared in the garb of old Gaul.


Long 'ere Her Majesty the Queen
Had visited of Aberdeen,
'Ere she in castle did abide
'Mong glorious hills on the Dee side,...

The district lying South of Georgian Bay and Lake Simcoe, including Toronto.


My friends we sing Canadian themes,
For in them we proudly glory,
Her lakes and rivers and her streams,...

Providential escape of Ruby and Neil McLeod, children of Angus McLeod of this town. Little Neil McKay McLeod, a child of three years of age, was carried under a covered raceway, upwards of one hundred yards, the whole distance ...

In the land of woods and lakes,
Pure happiness each one partakes,
Who is sound in body and in mind,
And to industry is inclined.

Here in great lakes we do take pride,...

Canada proves her devotion
To her who rules o'er land and sea,
For loyal thoughts do hearts inspire,
To make more glorious empire.

'Tis fifty years since Queen was crowned,...

Ranney began with just two cows,
Which he in winter fed on browse,
And now he hath got mighty herds
Numerous as flock of birds,
May he long live our hearts to cheer
This great and useful pioneer.

On the laying of the corner stone of the Brock monument at Queenston Heights, and the final interment of the General who had fallen at the battle of Queenston, Oct. 13th, 1812. The remains of his Aide, Col. McDonald, were also ...

Burns sang so sweet behind the plow,
Daisies we'll wreath around his brow,
Musing on thee what visions throng,
Of floods you poured of Scottish song.
Scott he did write romancing rhymes...

With our Canadian snow shoes,
O'er snow you walk where'er you choose,
But on long shoes Norwegian
They are like narrow toboggan.

And all your movements you control
By the aid of a stout long pole,...

The Glasgow people do take pride
In their river both deep and wide,
In early times the youth and maid
Did o'er its shallow waters wade.

But city money did not grudge,...

Robert F. Gourley was a graduate of St. Andrew's University, Scotland. He was the first to agitate for popular rights in Canada. He was banished from the country and while crossing the Niagara River he asked for a brush to wipe...

While voyaging on northern seas
For days we could not catch a breeze,
But were held fast as if in vice
Surrounded by the bergs of ice,
We could not move the ship or boat...

The mind that's sad it doth relax
The humor of the witty Saxe,
He puts us in a cheerful mood,
Mirthful as our own Tom Hood.

The following ode was read by the author at the Centennial Anniversary of Burns in the year 1859.


This night shall never be forgot
For humble life none now despise,
Since Burns was born in lowly cot...

Where frosts doth northern bays congeal,
There you will find the finest seal,
They do pursue them o'er each bay
From early dawn till close of day.

The Indians display great zeal,...