[Editor: A poem published in the Sydney Gazette, and New South Wales Advertiser, 12 June 1823.]
Sonnet.
Australia! I have thought of thee,
When far beyond yon troubled sea!
In a distant and colder clime,
I have wistfully thought of this land of crime!
But now, when its fair fields rise on the view,
Its beauteous valleys and mountains blue,
Ah! Scotia, now I think of thee,
Far, far beyond yon troubled sea!
And tho’ I should live a stranger here,
For many a long and dreary year,
Yet never again shall my fancy roam
From thee, sweet isle of my native home!
Yes; green be thy fields! and may angels keep
Their watch o’er the land where my forefathers sleep!
Sydney, June 2, 1823.
Scotus.
Source:
Sydney Gazette, and New South Wales Advertiser (Sydney, NSW), 12 June 1823, p. 4
Editor’s notes:
clime = a place, region, or foreign land, particularly referred to with regard to its climate (usually used in the plural, e.g. “cooler climes”, “hot climes”, “lovely climes”, “Northern climes”, “other climes”, “Southern climes”, “sunny climes”, “warmer climes”)
land of crime = a reference to Australia, regarding its usage as a destination for the transportation of convicts
o’er = over (pronounced the same as “oar”, “or”, and “ore”)
Scotia = Scotland
yon = an abbreviation of “yonder”: at a distance; far away
Old spelling in the original text:
thy (your)
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