Chapter XXIV: Man's Best Friend

Travel the world from end to end
You ne'er will find a better friend
Than sparkling water, pure and free,
Most precious boon to you and me.
It cheers the faint, it crowns the feast,
Makes food to grow for man and beast;
In sickness soothes the fevered frame,
There's healing in its very name.
And what can more life-giving be
Than cooling breezes from the sea,
Whose bosom bears upon their way
The stately ships from day to day?
A treasure trove of priceless worth;
A jewelled belt for mother Earth,
Encircling with its silvery bands,
She binds together many lands.
To cure disease dame Nature brings
Her remedy in mineral springs;
Water without, water within,
Equally good for stout or thin;
And more than man can e'er devise
Invigorates and purifies.
Travel the world from end to end,
You ne'er will find a better friend.