The Irish Emigrant. 1883.

"They sow in tears who reap in joy,"     Was truly said of old:     We wandered far, but round us still     Stretched God Almighty's fold.     'Twas He who led us forth; our grief     Discerned His chastening hand,     And saw not, though before our eyes     Shone bright His promised land.     O bless Him for the love that made     The parting greeting sore,     But for the bold heart that He gave     We bless our God yet more!     He gave us hope, He gave us strength;     For us His prairies smile,     The new world's untouched soils for us     Spread boundless, mile on mile.     The richest heritage on earth     For us His mercy saved;     For ages Nature's harvests here     Unknown, ungathered, waved.     Ours now the grain which decks the plains,     Ours all their wondrous yield;     Our children, and our kin possess     Their own, in house and field.     What wonder then if many laugh,     And wonder joy was dumb!     To friends in older lands with less     Our happy hearts say "Come."