The miscellaneous works of David Humphreys Late Minister Plenipotentiary from the United States of America to the Court of Madrid |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
| 5. |
| 6. |
| 7. |
| 8. |
| 9. |
| 10. |
| 11. |
| 12. |
 | The miscellaneous works of David Humphreys |  |
And bid thy youths, whose brawny limbs are strung
For bolder toils, pursue those toils unsung—
Pursue through foreign seas, with vent'rous sail,
The dreadful combat of th' enormous whale:
Lo, where he comes, the foaming billows rise!
See spouted torrents cloud the misty skies;
See in the skiff the bold harpooner stand,
The murd'ring iron in his skilful hand:
From him alone th' attentive youths await
A joyful vict'ry, or a mournful fate:
His meas'ring eye the distance now explores,
His voice now checks, and now impels the oars:
The panting crew a solemn silence keep,
Stillness and horror hover o'er the deep:
Now nigh he kens a vulnerable part,
And hurls with deadly aim the barbed dart;
The wounded monster, plunging through th' abyss,
Makes uncoil'd cords in boiling waters hiss;
And oft the boat, drawn headlong down the wave,
Leads trembling seamen to their wat'ry grave;
And oft, when rising, on his back upborne,
Is dash'd on high, in countless pieces torn.
But now afar see ocean's monarch rise,
O'er troubled billows see how fast he flies,
And drags the feeble skiff along the flood,
Lash'd into foam, and colour'd red with blood!
At length subsides the elemental strife,
His rage exhausted with his ebbing life;
As tow'rs a rock on some sky-circled plain,
So looms his carcase o'er the dusky main.
Elate, the victors urge the added toil,
Extract the bone, and fill their ship with oil.
For bolder toils, pursue those toils unsung—
Pursue through foreign seas, with vent'rous sail,
The dreadful combat of th' enormous whale:
Lo, where he comes, the foaming billows rise!
See spouted torrents cloud the misty skies;
See in the skiff the bold harpooner stand,
The murd'ring iron in his skilful hand:
From him alone th' attentive youths await
A joyful vict'ry, or a mournful fate:
His meas'ring eye the distance now explores,
His voice now checks, and now impels the oars:
43
Stillness and horror hover o'er the deep:
Now nigh he kens a vulnerable part,
And hurls with deadly aim the barbed dart;
The wounded monster, plunging through th' abyss,
Makes uncoil'd cords in boiling waters hiss;
And oft the boat, drawn headlong down the wave,
Leads trembling seamen to their wat'ry grave;
And oft, when rising, on his back upborne,
Is dash'd on high, in countless pieces torn.
But now afar see ocean's monarch rise,
O'er troubled billows see how fast he flies,
And drags the feeble skiff along the flood,
Lash'd into foam, and colour'd red with blood!
At length subsides the elemental strife,
His rage exhausted with his ebbing life;
As tow'rs a rock on some sky-circled plain,
So looms his carcase o'er the dusky main.
Elate, the victors urge the added toil,
Extract the bone, and fill their ship with oil.
| The miscellaneous works of David Humphreys | |