.♦*■ < o ^♦ ^^ %^ "• ^' ^^-n^ oV^ .W^^^'- -n^O^ » * .v^' i°-n^ ^ ■^^ -^0^ ^^^% ^^^i^#^^ ^^>, ,^\.- .N^^-'^, ^•;.^^'.X"''co^W;:>V---:>^..,;,..\'-':^^ ^r,. ^*^ .y-^^ ';>^ „*lo.. C^ .-r-^^/-,- ^°r.(. ,-1 - .-iv- "^^ -A .^'"-^, 4 O •.V- .-4 ^ '?.^' .0^ > > '^^ -^r-: ,^" V -.0 ^r. ■ V ^ OTSEGO LAKE, "c) BY M /^^ / MKS. flNl^R S. DOUGIiflSS. ?^ ■Mi>. IbLiUSTRATED BY MRS. HARRIET F. S. DOUGhflS. '<*Sp X '"it IS ;893 COPYRIGHT APPLIED FOR. OTSEGO hflK,E. All hail! fair Otsego, thou beautiful lake, With thy green wooded slopes fringed with fern and wild brake, And Wellington Mountain towcrino- so hicrh. Stands poised like an eagle, close to the sky; Yea, he stands like a monarch in royal array Where the sunlight comes up to the rim of the day, Casting bright splendor all over thy face Till it ripples and dimples with exquisite orace • Then the gold of the sun and the wood's emerald green, Harmoniously blend with thine own silver sheen; And at night, when tke moonlight peeps out from the cloud. Each star is reflected, each leaf is endowed With thy magical beauty, thy fairy-like charm, While each wave lies asleep on thy bosom so calm. ^: ■■*.?■ ,W^ .f ♦r.^sgl^^'- ^' ..^.J^^ ^^^ . > HKSJO. Then the Cooperstown spires reflect in thy blue And the fleecy white clouds, and the diamonds of dew Which embroider thy banks like the robe of a queen, Setting here a pearl dew-drop and there a moonbeam With such delicate skill that Rembrandt might pine To be able to picture such beauty as thine. Not Afton's sweet waters, nor Elgin nor Ayr, Nor Burns' bonny Doon can with thee compare; And Byron may sing in his praise of the Rhine- There are classical beauties which only are thine, For Cooper has made thee immortal, we know, a As he told of thy charms of the long, long ago. So we'll echo the song ot thv praises again Till woodland and mountain, and valley and elen. Shall join in the anthem, shall swell the refrain, Wdiile the wmds bear it back to th\- bosom aoain; To dash up the waters in white-caps and roar. Like the sound ot the sea on th\' wave-beaten shore. The Indian has vanished, the panther is slain, But the arrows which Vulcan once mended remain, And Cupid now shoots them, all tipped with bright gold, He is heedless, and reckless, and daring, and bold, And the "Hetties" and "Judiths" who visit thy shore. In the dearslayer s track will be found by the score. There's a brave Natty Bumpo still frequents the place. Transformed like a fairy he kisses thy face, And carries sweet maidens, rocked safe in his arms, O'er thy moon-glinted waves where the pickerel swarms, Till maiden and fish are caught in the snare. Then — Eden is thought to be located there ! And the smooth satin ray from fair "Ghmmerglass" shmes Like a ribbon of gold up through the dark pines. **'s^*rr~'W"' '^^% RD- 17 .V o " " ° ♦ <^^ ^0 ^d. * ^ .'.%^.v .. .. /^v, -^z ,:^ic*= %.^^ /^\ "^Z -^o .. " o , -rf)^ ,<,">•■ ■ .V. 0^ .'' .V- » ,■»< ji,. >li, vs