The legendary consisting of original pieces, principally illustrative of American history, scenery, and manners |
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THE DOOMED SHIP. |
 | THE DOOMED SHIP. The legendary |  |
THE DOOMED SHIP.
Lightly the south wind kissed the sea,
As it slept in deep tranquillity,
And the crescent moon was bathed in light,
Like a silver loop of the curtained night,
And the stars were twinkling bright and high,
Like human eyes, in the ample sky.
Along the shore of the beautiful bay,
The Kazie ploughed on her stately way;
The spray was dashed from her cleaving prow,
And fell like gems to the wave below,
And the mariners laughed with joy to see
The track she left on her foaming lee.
Time glowed on its axle. Away like light
The hours had fled in their traceless flight.
The ship had entered the heaving main,
And sullenly ploughed the untrodden plain
The sailors slept; but the face of the sky
Was darkened by clouds that were coming nigh,
And the vessel rocked to the rising swell,
And the sails flapped loose, or idly fell,
As it slept in deep tranquillity,
And the crescent moon was bathed in light,
Like a silver loop of the curtained night,
And the stars were twinkling bright and high,
Like human eyes, in the ample sky.
Along the shore of the beautiful bay,
The Kazie ploughed on her stately way;
The spray was dashed from her cleaving prow,
And fell like gems to the wave below,
And the mariners laughed with joy to see
The track she left on her foaming lee.
Time glowed on its axle. Away like light
The hours had fled in their traceless flight.
The ship had entered the heaving main,
And sullenly ploughed the untrodden plain
The sailors slept; but the face of the sky
Was darkened by clouds that were coming nigh,
And the vessel rocked to the rising swell,
And the sails flapped loose, or idly fell,
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And the helmsman's brow grew troubled fast,
As the giant clouds went driving past.
Now, as far on the sea as the sight could lie,
Where the ocean joined to the stooping sky,
Seen dim through the mist like the moon in her wane
Strange gleamings of light flashed again and again
A moment—the blood, like electrical light,
Rushes back on the heart—the Doomed Ship is in
And up to the sky went a shrieking of fear,
As the light on her quarter flashed fearfully near.
Ah! well may the gray haired seaman tell
The tale of that vessel he knows so well;
That the spirits of some who were murderers at sea
On the deck of that ship are known to be,
With a sense of life and a perishing thirst,
On the sight of the living in storm they burst,
Forever in chase, with a fearful way,
Of relief for whose coming they may not stay.
Nearer, still nearer, their shouts are heard;
They are chasing a ship with the speed of a bird
The furrow is deep in the waters they sever—
And the ship they pursue has gone down forever!
On came the prison of souls to view,
Enveloped in clouds of a fiery hue;
Her bellying sails gave way to the blast,
And bent the lithe topsail and stately mast,
While in strong relief on the lurid glow,
Was painted each spar of the `mariner's foe.'
As the giant clouds went driving past.
Now, as far on the sea as the sight could lie,
Where the ocean joined to the stooping sky,
Seen dim through the mist like the moon in her wane
Strange gleamings of light flashed again and again
A moment—the blood, like electrical light,
Rushes back on the heart—the Doomed Ship is in
And up to the sky went a shrieking of fear,
As the light on her quarter flashed fearfully near.
Ah! well may the gray haired seaman tell
The tale of that vessel he knows so well;
That the spirits of some who were murderers at sea
On the deck of that ship are known to be,
With a sense of life and a perishing thirst,
On the sight of the living in storm they burst,
Forever in chase, with a fearful way,
Of relief for whose coming they may not stay.
Nearer, still nearer, their shouts are heard;
They are chasing a ship with the speed of a bird
The furrow is deep in the waters they sever—
And the ship they pursue has gone down forever!
On came the prison of souls to view,
Enveloped in clouds of a fiery hue;
Her bellying sails gave way to the blast,
And bent the lithe topsail and stately mast,
While in strong relief on the lurid glow,
Was painted each spar of the `mariner's foe.'
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On—fearfully on!—the warm blood froze
As the shriek of undying thirst arose—
An instant—she passed! and the trough of the sea
Received the trim form of the gallant Kazie.
Another—and like the fleet swallow that flings
On the blue summer heaven his rapturous wings,
The gallant Kazie to the waters leant,
And sprang on her course like a shaft well sent.
The mariners still, with a trembling lip,
Tell the stirring tale of the fated ship,
Yet still do they venture abroad on the sea,
And tread the trim decks of the gallant Kazie.
As the shriek of undying thirst arose—
An instant—she passed! and the trough of the sea
Received the trim form of the gallant Kazie.
Another—and like the fleet swallow that flings
On the blue summer heaven his rapturous wings,
The gallant Kazie to the waters leant,
And sprang on her course like a shaft well sent.
The mariners still, with a trembling lip,
Tell the stirring tale of the fated ship,
Yet still do they venture abroad on the sea,
And tread the trim decks of the gallant Kazie.
| THE DOOMED SHIP. The legendary | |