Classic Poem

Streams! ye have ever been the friends of men —
From tiny brook, the playmate of the child,
Or torrent, dashing down the rocky glen,
That fills the soul of youth with rapture wild,
To Rhine or Seine, a nation's pride, that wends
Through peopled plains, by cities great and free,
As with full sweep majestic it descends,
Bearing its tribute to the mighty sea.
Most to the sacred poets streams are dear:
Not seldom, as the singers in old time
Drew inspiration from Castalian dews,
They still by fount or river find the Muse;
And, mingled with their songs, we seem to hear
The voice of waters, soothing or sublime.