1881 



Pair 



1881 



Thayer 



Niagara Falls 



Anon, I hear, at one majestic sweep 

 The diapason of the keys eternal. 



Standing, beneath Niagara's angry flood — 



The thundering cataract above me bounding — 



I hear the echo: " Man, there is a God! " 

 From the great arches of the gorge resounding. 



Behold, O man, nor shrink aghast in fear! 



Survey the vortex boiling deep before thee ! 

 The Hand that ope'd the liquid gateway here 



Hath set the beauteous bow of promise o'er thee ! 



Here, in the hollow of that Mighty Hand, 



Which holds the basin of the tidal ocean, 

 Let not the jarring of the spray-washed strand 



Disturb the orisons of pure devotion. 



Roll on, Niagara! Great River King! 



Beneath thy sceptre all earth's rulers, mortal, 

 Bow reverently; and bards shall ever sing 



The matchless grandeur of thy peerless portal! 



I hear, Niagara, in this grand strain 



His voice, who speaks in flood, in flame, and thunder — 

 Forever, mayst thou, singing, roll and reign — 



Earth's grand, sublime, supreme, supernal wonder. 



Thayer, Eugene. Music of Niagara. (Scrib, rno., Feb. 1881. 

 21:583-586.) 



Written from the point of view of an organist and a musician, this 

 article deals with the musical qualities of the sound of Niagara. The 

 pitch and composition of the tone of Niagara are described, and the 

 different tones of the chord which the sound conveys to the musical ear 

 are given. In the course of his experiments the author investigated the 

 subject from Goat Island, the Cave of the Winds, — " under the singing 



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