And the captain, Abel Tasman,
Sailing under southern skies,
Mingled with his hopes of glory,
Thoughts of one with starlight eyes.
Onward sailed he, where the crested
White waves broke around his ship,
With the lovelight in his true eyes,
And the song upon his lip.
Onward sailed he, ever onward,
Faithful as the stars above;
Many a cape and headland pointing
Tells the legend of his love:
For he linked their names together,
Speeding swiftly o'er the wave--
Tasman's Isle and Cape Maria,
Still they bear the names he gave.
Toil and tempest soon were over,
And he turned him home again,
Seeking her who was his guiding
Star across the trackless main.
Strange it seems the eager captain
Thus should hurry from his prize,
When a thousand scenes of wonder
Stood revealed before his eyes.
But those eyes were always looking,
Out toward the Java seas,
Where the maid he loved was waiting--
Dearer prize to him than these.
But his mission was accomplished,
And a new and added gem
Sparkled with a wondrous lustre
In the Dutch king's diadem.
Little did the gallant seaman
Think that in the days to be,
England's hand should proudly wrest it
From his land's supremacy.
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