And named each gilded apparition.
’Twas like a torch-race,—such as they
Of Greece performed, in ages gone,
When the fleet youths, in long array,
Passed the bright torch triumphant on.
I saw the expectant nations stand
To catch the coming flame in turn;
I saw, from ready hand to hand,
The clear, though struggling, glory burn.
And oh, their joy, as it came near,