The Chieftain's Daughter

Upon the barren sand

A single captive stood;

Around him came, with bow and brand,

The red-men of the wood.

Like him of old, his doom he hears,

Rock-bound on ocean's rim:

The chieftain's daughter knelt in tears,

And breathed a prayer for him.

Above his head in air

The savage war-club swung:

The frantic girl, in wild despair,

Her arms about him flung.

Then shook the warriors of the shade,

Like leaves on aspen limb —

Subdued by that heroic maid

Who breathed a prayer for him.

“Unbind him!” gasped the chief —

“Obey your king's decree!”

He kissed away her tears of grief,

And set the captive free.

‘ Tis ever thus, when, in life's storm,

Hope's star to man grows dim,

An angel kneels in woman's form,

And breathes a prayer for him.