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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Americas: Vol. XXX. 1876–79.

British America: Elora, Canada

Elora

By Alexander McLachlan (1820–1896)

O LOVELY Elora! thy valley and stream

Still dwell in my heart like a beautiful dream;

And everything peaceful and gentle I see

Brings back to my bosom some image of thee.

I ’ve roamed this Dominion allured by the beam

Of wild woodland beauty by valley and stream;

From lone Manitoulin all down to the sea;

But found not a spot, sweet Elora, like thee.

There ’s lone rocky grandeur away at the Sound,

And down the St. Lawrence wild beauties abound;

Quebec, towering proudly, looks down on the sea,

And lone Gananoque, there ’s beauty in thee;

And Barrie, the lady that sits by the lake,

Oh, would I could sing a sweet song for her sake!

But here in thy beauty a-listening the fall,

O lovely Elora! thou ’rt queen of them all.

If friends should forsake me, or fortune depart,

Or love fly and leave a great void in my heart,

Oh, then in my sorrow away I would flee

And hide from misfortune, Elora, in thee.

Away from the world, with its falsehood and pride,

In yon lowly cot where the smooth waters glide,

I ’d with Nature commune till death set me free,

And rest then forever, Elora, in thee.