Environ'd by ice, skill and ardour were vain
The swift moving mass of its force to disarm—
Yet, dash'd on the beach and our boats torn away,
No anchors could hold us, nor cables secure;
The dread and the peril expir'd with the day,
When none but High Heaven could our safety ensure.
"Involv'd with the ages existent before,
Is the year that has brought us thus far on our way,
And gratitude calls us our God to adore,
For the oft-renewed mercies its annals display.