Watching with eager eyes, she views
A fleet of large well-manned canoes,
The high curved bow and stern she knew,
That marked each "Company canoe,"
And o'er the wave both strong and clear,
Their boat-song floated to her ear
She marked their paddles' steady dip,
And listened with a quivering lip,
Her bridegroom, daring, gay, and young,
With the bold heart and winning tongue,
Was with them, upward bound, away
To the far posts of Hudson's Bay,
Gone ere the honeymoon is past,
The bright brief moon too sweet to last,
Gone for two long and dreary years,
And she must wait and watch at home,
Bear patiently her woman's fears,
And hope and pray until he come,
She stands there still although the last
Canoe of all the fleet is past.
Of paddle's dip, of boat-song gay,
The last faint sound has died away,
She only said in turning home
"I'll wait and pray until he come"


PART II

Spring flung abroad her dewy charms,
And blushing grew to summer shine,