Portage Sentinel

Occasional Poem.
FOR THE RAILROAD CELEBRATION.
By Charles P. Shiras.
No more we sing as they sang of old,
To the tones of the lute and lyre,
For lo! we live in an Iron age-
In the age of Steam and Fire!
The world is too busy for dreaming,
And has grown too wise for War;
So, to-day, for the glory of Science,
Let us sing of the Railway Car!
The golden chariots of ancient Kings
Would dazzle the wondering eye,
And the heads of a million slaves might bow
As the glittering toy rolled by;
But this is the Car of The People,
And before it shall bow all Kings
Be they warned when they hear the shrieking
Of the Dragon with iron wings!
The blood-stained Car of the Juggernaut,
O'er millions of necks hath rolled
And its Priests have cried, 'such a triumph as ours,
The world shall never behold'
But wo! when this harnessed Dragon
Comes vomiting smoke and fire.
For the Priests with their Car and Idols,
Shall perish beneath his ire!
And wo to all who uphold the wrong-
Love darkness rather than light-
For Science hath opened a broad highway
For Knowledge, and Truth, and Right,
And he sends forth his Car to gather
The people of many lands,
Until the uttermost nations
Are grasping each other's hands!
And thus, when the people, as one, are joined,
And each to his fellow is known.
Invention, and Art, and Skill shall work
At the bidding of Science alone,
And who can tell of the greatness
The world may hope for then!
For the faith that moveth mountains
Hath entered the souls of men!
Then sing no more, as they sang of old,
To the tones of the lute and lyre,
But sound the praise of the Iron Age-
Of the age of Steam and Fire,
And sing to the glory of Science
Exult in the downfall of War-
And shout for the fiery Dragon,
As he flies with the Railway Car!