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| A SEA-GIRT precipice, in lonely rest, | |
| Upstarting sheer from out the dark green deep; | |
| I watch thee steadfast with thy columned crest. | |
| Whether the stars their silent vigils keep, | |
| Or the bright lances of the morning sweep | 5 |
| Athwart the mountains, thou hast firmly stood | |
| By night and day, with all undaunted steep; | |
| Ages have rolled, and thou art unsubdued, | |
| A landmark calm and still, amid the weltering flood. | |
| |
| Bathed in the sombre light of eventide, | 10 |
| The great sun slowly draws his shafts around, | |
| While gently heaves the breast of ocean wide; | |
| The wavelets, murmuring with a mellow sound, | |
| From thy gray base in playful mood rebound; | |
| The sea beneath thee gleams with golden light; | 15 |
| In joyous quiet smiles the plain profound; | |
| Set in the main o’er all the verge of sight, | |
| Lit by the rays like gems, the islands glitter bright. | |
| |
| Fair in the distance mark the sunlit land, | |
| Long Carrick’s coast,—the line of gay Cantire; | 20 |
| Far westward shines the dim-traced emerald strand; | |
| High the surrounding battlements aspire, | |
| And throw vast shadows in the fading fire. | |
| See the majestic hills of Arran rise, | |
| Wind-wrestling Goatfell and his rugged choir; | 25 |
| Argyll’s tall ridges cleave the soaring skies; | |
| Beyond the misty north the mighty Lomond lies. * * * * * | |
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