University of Virginia Library

Meantime young Gilbert, by appointment bound,
Went to the sea; and to the garden bow'r
Walk'd Adriano to reflect alone,
And recollect his scatter'd spirits, pleas'd
To see his daughter happy with her friends,
And much delighted at the loud discourse
Under the shady beech. Long time he sat,
And meditated now, now read, now wrote,
Unwilling to disturb the lively maids:
For well he knew that laughter-loving youth
Cannot enjoy her story, serious age
And reverend experience looking on.

Gilbert had reach'd the shore, and found the boat
Impatient to be gone, the steady breeze
Swelling the bosom of the slacken'd sail;
He tarried not, but hastily embark'd,
And bade the chiding fisherman begone.
Himself assisted, and with ready hand
Drew up the anchor, while the sturdy boy
Hoisted the sail, and his grave father sat
To guide the helm. So from the shore they launch'd,
Bound to no port, but destin'd on a cruise,
A morning's cruise for fish. Pleas'd was the youth;
With utmost joy he saw the wood recede,
Beheld his cottage dwindled to a speck,
Observ'd the snow-white cliffs to right and left
Unfolding their wide barrier to his view,
And felt the boat bound gaily o'er the waves,
Light as a cork. He took the helm rejoic'd,
And right before the wind held on his course
Unheeding. 'Twas in vain his busy friends
Advis'd a diff'rent course, to gain with ease
The shore he left. He carelessly went on,
And never dream'd of danger and delay,
Never experienc'd. Fast into the waves
Sinks the far distant shore. The lofty cliff
Stoops to the water, and his hoary brow
At ev'ry wave seems buried in the flood.
And now the gloomy clouds collect. A storm
Comes mutt'ring o'er the deep, and hides the sun.
Hush'd is the breeze, and the high-lifted wave,
Portending speedy danger, to the shore
In lurid silence rolls. In tenfold gloom
The stormy south is wrapt, and his grim frown
Imparts unusual horror to the deep.
Now to the shore too late young Gilbert turns.
The breeze is sunk, and o'er the mounting waves
Labours the bark in vain. To the stout oar
The fisher and his son repair, and pull,
Alarm'd for safety, till their flowing brows
Trickle with dew. And oft the anxious youth
Looks back amaz'd, and sees the lightning play,
And hears the thunder, and beholds a sea
Ready to burst upon him. Oft he thinks
Of Anna and Sophia, and of thee,
Much-lov'd Maria, and thy aged sire,
Never perhaps again to walk with you,
To hear you speak, to live upon your smiles.
Ye hapless pair, what shall become of you,
No brother to defend you, and no father?

But fast the storm increases. The strong flash
Incessant gleams upon the curling wave.
Round his dark throne in awful majesty
The thunder marches; his imperious roar
Shakes the proud arch of heav'n. And now the show'r
Begins to drop, and the unsteady gust
Sweeps to the shore, and stoops the flying boat
E'en to the brink. Small distance then, my friends,
'Twixt life and death; a mere hair's breadth. And yet
Far, very far, appears the wish'd-for port.
And lo! between yon rocks now seen, now lost,
Buried in foam, and high the milky surge
Rolls its proud cataract along the shore,
Access denying. To the frowning cliff
Approach not. Mark the strong recoiling wave,
E'en to the base of the high precipice
It plunges headlong, and the stedfast hill
Wears with eternal battery. No bark
Of forty times your strength in such a sea
Could live a moment. 'Twere enough to wreck
A British navy, and her stoutest oak
Shiver to atoms. To the faithless beach
Fly with all speed—a hurricane pursues.
Tempt the loud surge. If life be to be won,
Deserve it well; if to be lost, be brave,
And yield it hardly.

In the garden-bow'r
Long time had Adriano sat and mus'd.
At length the clouded sun, and falling breeze,
That shook no more the whisp'ring poplar's leaf
Repose persuading, rous'd him from his seat
To view the weather. With sagacious eye
He read the gloomy south, and soon perceiv'd
The brooding storm. Quick to the maids he walks,
And tells of Gilbert's absence, and his wish
To tempt that day the ever-restless deep.
And lo! a storm advancing. To the shore
In great anxiety they haste. His friend
Old Adriano lov'd, and much the maids
His orphan sisters lov'd him, and as much
Lov'd meek Maria. On the beach they stand,
And o'er the flouncing surge with stedfast eye
Look out. None spies a sail; and much they fear,
And much they hope. Of probable delay
And alter'd purpose Adriano speaks,
And sooths the tim'rous fair, though little hope
His bosom entertain'd of Gilbert's safety.
He tells them of miraculous escapes,
Deliv'rances unthought of, and delays
Ordain'd by Providence. At length the storm
Grew loud, and double thunder shook the cliff.
The lightning glar'd, and shot his fiery fork
Hard at the hill. Back to the shelter'd cot
Speeds the good man, a maid in either hand;
Anna in one, Sophia in the other.
Maria ran before. Dark was the wood,
And darker still the cottage: it was night
Risen at noon. Their scatter'd work they seize,
Their chairs and table, and the welcome door
Scarce enter ere the heavy show'r descends.
A deluge falls, and loud the thunder roars,
Jarring the casement. With indignant glare
The lightning flashes, and a flood of fire
Illumines all the wood. The pow'rful blast
Runs howling by the door, and oft they think
They hear the crash of the descending elm
Torn from its roots, or shatter'd beech, or oak,
Smit by the bolt of Heav'n. But most they think
Of thee, young Gilbert, on the troubled deep
In anguish tost, or buried in the waves,
A prey to sharks, or cast upon the beach,
No friend to save thee, or thy poor remains
Snatch from the flood, and lay them in the earth
With decent burial. And much they wept,
And many a tear was shed by thy sweet eye,
Lovely Maria, to attest thy love,
Never before confess'd. For she had lov'd,
Much lov'd the gen'rous Gilbert, and she hop'd
Ere Adriano died to find a friend,
Perhaps a husband. In extreme despair
Two hours they past, two long and painful hours.
None took refreshment, but the little feast
Untasted stood, courting the tongue in vain.