stray.

  Vancouver, Vancouver,
    In summer time all the day long
  To sea we will roam, for afloat we're at home
    So we sway on our halyards with song.

  Vancouver, Vancouver,
    The open gateway of the West.
  Her harbour's the port where vessels resort
    Of pleasure or profit in quest.

  Vancouver, Vancouver,
    Her mountains a wonderland hold,
  Where the Lions on guard, carved in rock grey and hard,
    Have stood sentry for ages untold.

  Vancouver, Vancouver,
    Of seamen intrepid we'll sing:
  Vancouver and Cook, great explorers, who took
    Possession in name of their king.

Victoria, B.C.

  Bud of England grafted
    On a western tree,
  Favoured by the breezes
    Of a temperate sea.

  Roses in the gardens
    Greet thy Christmastide,
  Broom upon the headlands
    Gilds the ocean side.

  In thy dreamy moments
    Thou didst plan to be
  Queen upon the islands
    By the western sea.

Paolo's Virginia

A SPRING PHANTASY

Cast

  Kelpies
  Frosties
  Fairies
  Paolo
  Virginia
  Cupid

SCENE I.

SEASHORE AT THE MOUTH OF A CREEK

Paolo—
  Heart free, care free and free to roam am I
  Wherever fancy leads beneath the sky.
  I'll rest awhile and watch the kelpies play,
  They will be sporting on the sands to-day.
  Perhaps they'll tell me what my heart desires
  To know, and Cupid's dart inspires.

[Kelpies come up from the sea and sing in chorus:]

  Join with us, dance with us, prance with us
  Over the sea.
  Roam with us, flee with us, be with us
  Where we may be

  Sing with us, walk with us, talk with us
  Carelessly gay.
  Come with us, play with us, stray with us
  Where we may stray.

Paolo—
  Pray, kelpies, tell me what you find of joy,
  In what of work or play your hours employ.

Kelpies' Chorus—
  You can sing of the lakes and mountains
  And the freedom of open plains;
  But for spaces wide and untrammelled
  The ocean alone remains.

  In the cradle of ocean surges
  We rock to heart's content.
  We've played on countless beaches
  And roam the sea's extent.

1st Kelpie—
  The sights that we view on our travels
  Are marvels that fill with delight;
  But chief is the phosphorescence
  Of the foaming seas, at night.

Paolo—
  I wish you would tell of those flashes
  That are such a wonderful sight.

Phosphorescence

1st Kelpie—
  Sparkling and darkling, dust of the milky way,
  Shifting and drifting, firefly legions at play;
  Fading and glowing, lights of a starry maze,
  Coming and going, drift of a luminous haze.

  Tangling and spangling the waves with a wealth of light,
  Spraying and straying silently through the night;
  Dusting and flashing a light in our yeasty wake,
  Glowing and splashing wherever the waves we break.

  Lacing and tracing the path of the evening breeze,
  Blazing and raising a light on the breaking seas;
  Ebbing and flowing, an ocean of liquid light,
  Finding and showing the reefs in the blackest night.

Paolo—
  There's much in what you say appeals to me;
  What else may you have learned along the margin of the sea?

1st Kelpie—
  There is a cove, secret from passing eyes,
  Beautiful as a dream of Paradise;
  Where, sheltered from the stormy waves that stray
  Unfettered down the sea's wide open way,
  The seaman oftentimes doth moor his barque
  In shaded bays, peaceful by day or dark.
  For there the salty tide finds calm repose,
  Sheltered from every boisterous wind that blows;
  And ripples, like faint shadows on a glass,
  Play lightly where the fitful breezes pass.
  Elsewhere the mirrored shores inverted stand,
  Trees foot to foot, hand clasping hand;
  And all the flitting clouds their faces see,
  Till sea and sky seem one in harmony.
  In that well guarded spot few sounds intrude
  To mar the quiet of its solitude.
  The beat of surges at the entrance seems
  A distant murmur from the land of dreams;
  While crickets chirruping and song birds gay,
  From valley and from hillside sound their lay.

  Four miles of coastline do those arms surround
  Of cliff and delta, wood and open ground;
  Where stately fir and cedar trees are seen
  In contrast with the lighter shades of green;
  While on the rocks thick moss and lichen grow,
  And rough arbutus shrubs their shadows throw.

  When sunset edges all the clouds with gold,
  And sea and shore with jewelled wealth untold,
  Those rocky cliffs a fitting setting form
  To hold that gem of ocean (safe in storm);
  And changing lights, warm and elusive, wear
  To match the shading of the sea and air.

  A maid lives there, who often roams this way;
  We're here to greet her when she comes to-day.

[Enter Virginia.]

Kelpies—
  Virginia, come and play with us awhile;
  Come, be our queen and on our revels smile.
  Or if we may but help you o'er the stream,
  Our labours shall a moment's frolic seem.

Virginia—
  Kelpies, too long you've roamed on mischief bent:
  Too long you've made the sky your nightly tent.
  I've oft been warned to shun your careless way
  And from your pranks and revels warned to stay.
  I dare not try to cross the swollen tide
  Unless some stronger arm is close beside.

[Paolo approaches]

  Permit my arm to be this guide and stay:
  Pray give me leave to help you on your way.

Virginia—
  Kind sir, if you will take me by the hand,
  I'll thank you to assist to that far strand.
  No—Don't you lift me up—I didn't mean—
  Well—If you must—

[Carried over]

How strong your arms have been.

Paolo—
  Virginia, did I hear the kelpies say?
  Yes, that's my name. What is your own, I pray?
  Call me Paolo, and if I may be
  Of any further help fair maid to thee,
  Allow me to attend you on your way.

Virginia—
  Thank you, I need no further help to-day.

[Exit Virginia.]

Kelpies—
  Join with us, dance with us, prance with us
  Over the sea.
  Roam with us, flee with us, be with us
  Where we may be.

Paolo, turning from