'Tis said it was the spirit of the land
That grew upon them—they were mostly men
Of birth and culture, whom their native states
Had chosen to send forth, ambassadors!
From many a favoured shore where truth and light
Had made their home, where peaceful arts had shed
Their brightest rays; from fields of classic song
Whose softening accents ring from age to age,
They came to far Cathay—a little band
Prepared to bear the torch of progress on