All joining in the merry dance the young and old were seen,
And many a jocund song was sung, and many a tale was told;
Oh! was not the world beautiful in those good days of old?
This world of ours was beautiful when valiant men and true
Spread their white sails, and sought a home beyond the waters blue—
They found it ’neath the forest old, ’mid wild and savage men,
Beside the ocean’s rocky shore, within the mountain glen;
And there was heard the childish laugh, and there the mother’s tone,
Brought joy and gladness in their sound to many an altar-stone;
Men toiled and strove, and strove and toiled, through all the weary hours,