Ye cliffs! I to your airy steep

YE cliffs! I to your airy steep
Ascend with trembling hope and and fear,
To gaze on this extensive deep,
And watch if WILLIAM'S sails appear.

Long months elapse, while here I breathe
Vain Expectation's frequent prayer;
Till bending o'er the waves beneath,
I drop the tear of dumb despair.

But see a glistening sail in view!
Tumultuous hopes arise:
'Tis he!—I feel the vision true,
I trust my conscious eyes.

His promis'd signals from the mast
My timid doubts destroy:
What was your pain, ye terrors past,
To this ecstatic joy!