An Address to the Deity: at Kandersteg

Father in heaven! while friendless and alone
I gaze on nature's face in Alpine wild,
I would approach thee nearer. Wilt thou own
The solitary pilgrim for thy child!
When on the hill's majestic height I trod,
And thy creation smiling round me lay,
The soul reclaimed its likeness unto God,
And spurned its union with the baser clay.
The stream of thought flowed purely, like the air
That from untrodden snows passed coolly by;
Base passion died within me; low-born care
Fled, and reflection raised my soul on high.
Then wast thou with me, and didst sweetly pour
Serene delight into my wounded breast;
The mantle of thy love hung gently o'er
The lonely wanderer, and my heart had rest.
I gazed on thy creation. O! 't is fair;
The vales are clothed in beauty, and the hills
In their deep bosom icy oceans bear,
To feed the mighty floods and bubbling rills.
I marvel not at nature. She is thine;
Thy cherished daughter, whom thou lov'st to bless;
Through thee her hills in glistening whiteness shine;
Through thee her valleys laugh in loveliness.
'T is thou, when o'er my path beams cheerful day,
That smiling guid'st me through the stranger's land.;
And when mild winds around my temples play,
On my hot brow I feel thy lenient hand.
And shall I fear thee? — wherefore fear thy wrath,
When life and hope and youth from thee descend"?
O! be my guide in life's uncertain path,
The pilgrim's guardian, counsellor, and friend.