University of Virginia Library


296

II. Part II.

The morning comes, the dawning glooms,
The westlin' wind doth blaw,
And it snorts and spits in spitefu' fits,
Wi' rain, and sleet, and snaw,
Whilk sperge and snift athort the lift;
Lord Arthur's Seat looks through the drift,
And the loom o' Berwick Law.
The sailors sing a fareweel sang
To the land o' their love and birth;
The anchor's weigh'd, and the sails are set,
And the ship scuds doon the firth.
The westlin' wind blaws on behind;
It wafts them out o' the Forth;
And, when they fell in the ocean's swell,
They turn'd them to the north.
The up and spak' the gallant Mate,
As they sat at their dine,—
“Ye'll take this slice of beef, my boy,
Unto that Cat of mine.”
The boy has ta'en the slice o' beef,
And gane aboot the deck;
And aye he cries upo' the Cat,
But she winna answer back:—

297

“O, poosie, poosie baudrins,
What the deevil di' ye mean?'
And aye the laddie cries and cries,
But nae poosie can be seen.
The first day that the ship was out,
She made near Aberdeen:
The mornin's mist had ta'en its flicht,
The afternoon was bonnie and bricht,
And the heavens at nicht, wi' starlet's licht,
Were in a glorious sheen.
The second day that the ship was out,
She made the Moray Firth;
And there she lay the lee-lang day,
For a calm fell ower the earth.
The wind was husht, and a darksome mist
Cam' brooding ower the ocean,
And the ship did shog like a heavy log,
Wi' a rolling, lurching motion.
And the mist cam' round like a prison-bound,
'Twas drear as drear could be;
And nocht was seen to glad the een,
But the dead swell o' the sea.
O, up and spak' the gallant Mate,
As they sat at their dine,
“Go take this slice of beef, my boy,
Unto that Cat of mine.”

298

The boy has ta'en the slice o' beef,
And gane aboot the deck,
And aye he cries upo' the Cat,
But she winna answer back.
“O, poosie, poosie baudrins,
What the deevil di' ye mean?”
And aye the laddie cries and cries,
But nae poosie can be seen.
The breeze sprang up at dead o' nicht,
The ship made a sudden bound,
And she scoured the seas before the breeze,
Like a hare before a hound.
They sailèd on, and on they sail'd,
And aye they held them north;
And the morrow's sun, ere it was noon,
Saw them through the Pentland Firth.
They sailèd on, and on they sail'd
Upon their watery path;
And the third nicht that the ship was out,
She was sailin' by Cape Wrath.
The fourth day that the ship was out,
They saw the Lewis Isle:
The main-land loom'd, the dun cluds gloom'd,
And they lookit fu' o' guile;

299

And then they rent, and the rain gat vent,
And the sleet was sent wi' a sniftin' sklent,
And wi' a fiendish, fell intent,
The Kelpie laucht the while.
O the Kelpie he's a spitefu' dog,
A weird, unchancie chiel';
He haunts the sea-shore and the bog—
He's a bairn o' the de'il;
For he lauchs his fill when things gang ill,
And he greets when things gang weel.
O, up and spak' the gallant Mate,
As they sat at their dine,
“Go take this slice of beef, my boy,
Unto that Cat of mine.”
The boy has ta'en the slice o' beef,
And gane aboot the deck,
And aye he cries upo' the Cat,
But she winna answer back.
“O, poosie, poosie baudrins,
What the deevil di' ye mean?”
And aye the laddie cries and cries,
But nae poosie can be seen.
The next day that the ship was out,
St. Kilda's Isle she made;
And twa days there she dodg'd about,
For the wind was richt ahead.

300

She dodg'd about and she dodg'd about,
But nae muckle did she gang;
O the winds were chill, and the days were dull,
And the nichts were mirk and lang.
And ilka nicht a witch-like licht
Cam' sparklin' frae the sea,
Till the ocean below wi' lichts did glow,
Like stars in the heavens hie.
The porpoise flew, and his track shone blue,
As he scuddit through the faem;
The big whale blew, and the water he threw
Gaed up like a brimstane flame,
Whilk burst on hie and dazzilt the e'e
As a shour o' blue licht doon came.
The seventh day that the ship was out,
She was wearin' near Rock-all;
But alas! and alake! how the heart doth quake
To think what did befall!
What tongue can tell the dangers fell
Of hurricane and squall!
The dawn had scarce begun to peep
When the cluds cam' crowdin' round,
And the ocean wauken'd frae his sleep,
Like a giant frae a swound,
Wi' a far-aff snore, lang, hoarse, and deep—
The very flesh wi' fear did creep,
To hear the boding sound.

301

Then Boreas, frae his norland cave,
Cam' forth wi' a fiend-like roar;
He peal'd alang frae wave to wave,
And boom'd frae shore to shore.
He tore the brine frae the foamy waves,
And spat about the spray;
And he hollow'd the deep like yawning graves
Awaiting for their prey.
Thick vapour rises frae the sea,
And wings alang the lift;
And, wi' sweesh and sweep across the deep,
Brine mingles wi' the drift.
Nae sun was seen in the heavens to sheene
Wi' a kindly cheerin' licht;
For his beams they couldna pierce the gloom,
And day was dark as nicht.
Then the lightning gleam'd, and the water steam'd,
As it skimm'd alang the sea;
And the thunder hurl'd like a broken world
Gone into eternitie.
The big waves dash'd, and roar'd, and lash'd
Each other into wrath;
The sea-birds wheel'd, and shriek'd, and squeel'd,
As they sang the dirge of death.

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The gallant ship rides in the swell,
Her bare yards brave the gale;
But she heaves on high like a pearly shell,
And her tall masts creak and quail;
Her shrouds are moaning, her timbers groaning,—
The mariner's cheek is pale.
And clinging to the mizen-shrouds,
Each, wet and trembling, stands,
While the waves wash o'er, with a dread uproar—
Blenching the face and hands.
But, see yon mountain of the deep,
Rolling along in wrath!
His crest is white, and his sides are steep,
All other waves before him leap—
Clearing his wayward path;
And in his desolating sweep
Destruction lies, and death!
The sailors eye him coming on,
And well they know his pow'r;
Each in his hand has grasp'd a rope,
And all expectant cow'r.
Then with a smash, and a heavy crash,
The watery monster leaps
Down on the deck, bestrewing wreck
And ruin where he sweeps.

303

The decks are swept, and the surge has crept
In at every yawning seam;
And the gallant Mate rolls on the deck,
As he were in a wrangling dream.
The red blood oozes frae a wound
That gaps in his manly head:
“Come bear a hand,” the Captain cries,
“Be handy now, my gallant boys,
And put our Mate to bed.”
The white foam oozes frae his mouth,
As the blood does frae his wound,
And they carry him down the cabin stair—
All in a deadly swound.
Still Boreas roars his dreadful roar,
And still the sea o'erwhelms;
The thunder hurls yet more and more,
As if the giant columns
That stud the mighty dome of heaven
Were by some dire convulsion driven
In tumbling ruin; while the volumes
Of lurid light that start and gleam,
As if they joy'd in the alarm
Of elemental madness, seem
The moving spirits of the storm!
'Tis thus the day drives on, and still
The mariner's cheek is pale;

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And it shines like death in the lightnings glare,
As he turns to heaven with a look of pray'r,—
For he deems there is some kind spirit there
That may hearken to his wail.