The Poetical works of Wm. Falconer With the life of the author. Cooke's Edition. Embellished with superb engravings |
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| II. |
| III. | CANTO III. |
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 | The Poetical works of Wm. Falconer |  |
59
CANTO III.
The Argument.
THE Design and Influence of Poetry. Applied to the Subject. Wreck of the Mizen Mast cleared away. Ship veers before the Wind. Her violent Agitation. Different Stations of the Officers. Appearance of the Island of Falconera. Excursion to the adjacent Nations of Greece, renown'd in Antiquity. Athens. Socrates. Plato. Aristides. Solon. Corinth. Sparta. Leonidas. Invasion of Xerxes. Lycurgus. Epaminondas. Modern Appearance. Arcadia. Its former Happiness and Fertility. Present Distress, the Effect of Slavery. Ithaca. Ulysses and Penelope. Argos and Mycenæ. Agamemnon. Macriuisi. Lemnos. Vulcan and Venus. Delos. Apollo and Diana. Troy. Sestos. Leander and Hero. Delphos. Temple of Apollo. Parnassus. The Muses. The Subject resumed. Sparkling of the Sea. Prodigious Tempest, accompanied with Rain, Hail, and Meteors. Darkness, Lightning, and Thunder. Approach of Day. Discovery of Land. The Ship in great Danger passes the Island of St. George. Turns her Broadside to the Shore. Her Bowsprit, Foremast, and Maintop Mast carried away. She strikes a Rock. Splits asunder. Fate of the Crew.
When in a barbarous age, with blood defil'd,
The human savage roam'd the gloomy wild;
When sullen Ignorance her flag display'd,
And Rapine and Revenge her voice obey'd;
Sent from the shores of light, the Muses came,
The dark and solitary race to tame.
'Twas theirs the lawless passions to controul,
And melt in tender sympathy the soul;
The heart from vice and error to reclaim,
And breathe in human breasts celestial flame.
The kindling spirit caught th' empyreal ray,
And glow'd congenial with the swelling lay.
Rous'd from the chaos of primeval night,
At once fair Truth and Reason sprung to light.
When great Mæonides, in rapid song,
The thundering tide of battle rolls along,
Each ravish'd bosom feels the high alarms,
And all the burning pulses beat to arms.
From earth upborn, on Pegasean wings,
Far thro' the boundless realms of thought he springs;
While distant poets, trembling as they view
His sunward flight, the dazzling track pursue.
But when his strings, with mournful magic, tell
What dire distress Laertes' son befel,
The strains, meand'ring thro' the maze of woe,
Bid sacred sympathy the heart o'erflow.
Thus, in old time, the Muses' heavenly breath
With vital force dissolv'd the chains of death:
Each bard in epic lays began to sing,
Taught by the master of the vocal string.
'Tis mine, alas! through dangerous scenes to stray,
Far from the light of his unerring ray!
While, all unus'd the wayward path to tread,
Darkling I wander with prophetic dread.
To me in vain the bold Mæonian lyre
Awakes the numbers, fraught with living fire!
Full oft, indeed, that mournful harp of yore
Wept the sad wanderer lost upon the shore;
But o'er that scene th' impatient numbers ran,
Subservient only to a nobler plan.
'Tis mine the unravell'd prospect to display,
And chain th' events in regular array.
Tho' hard the task to sing in varied strains,
While all unchang'd the tragic theme remains!
Thrice happy! might the secret powers of art
Unlock the latent windings of the heart!
Might the sad numbers draw compassion's tear
For kindred-miseries oft' beheld too near;
For kindred-wretches, oft' in ruin cast
On Albion's strand, beneath the wintry blast;
For all the pangs, the complicated woe,
Her bravest sons, her faithful sailors know!
So pity, gushing o'er each British breast,
Might sympathize with Britain's sons distrest:
For this, my theme thro' mazes I pursue,
Which nor Mæonidas nor Maro knew.
The human savage roam'd the gloomy wild;
When sullen Ignorance her flag display'd,
And Rapine and Revenge her voice obey'd;
Sent from the shores of light, the Muses came,
The dark and solitary race to tame.
'Twas theirs the lawless passions to controul,
And melt in tender sympathy the soul;
The heart from vice and error to reclaim,
And breathe in human breasts celestial flame.
The kindling spirit caught th' empyreal ray,
And glow'd congenial with the swelling lay.
Rous'd from the chaos of primeval night,
At once fair Truth and Reason sprung to light.
When great Mæonides, in rapid song,
The thundering tide of battle rolls along,
Each ravish'd bosom feels the high alarms,
And all the burning pulses beat to arms.
From earth upborn, on Pegasean wings,
Far thro' the boundless realms of thought he springs;
While distant poets, trembling as they view
His sunward flight, the dazzling track pursue.
60
What dire distress Laertes' son befel,
The strains, meand'ring thro' the maze of woe,
Bid sacred sympathy the heart o'erflow.
Thus, in old time, the Muses' heavenly breath
With vital force dissolv'd the chains of death:
Each bard in epic lays began to sing,
Taught by the master of the vocal string.
'Tis mine, alas! through dangerous scenes to stray,
Far from the light of his unerring ray!
While, all unus'd the wayward path to tread,
Darkling I wander with prophetic dread.
To me in vain the bold Mæonian lyre
Awakes the numbers, fraught with living fire!
Full oft, indeed, that mournful harp of yore
Wept the sad wanderer lost upon the shore;
But o'er that scene th' impatient numbers ran,
Subservient only to a nobler plan.
'Tis mine the unravell'd prospect to display,
And chain th' events in regular array.
Tho' hard the task to sing in varied strains,
While all unchang'd the tragic theme remains!
Thrice happy! might the secret powers of art
Unlock the latent windings of the heart!
Might the sad numbers draw compassion's tear
For kindred-miseries oft' beheld too near;
For kindred-wretches, oft' in ruin cast
On Albion's strand, beneath the wintry blast;
For all the pangs, the complicated woe,
Her bravest sons, her faithful sailors know!
So pity, gushing o'er each British breast,
Might sympathize with Britain's sons distrest:
For this, my theme thro' mazes I pursue,
Which nor Mæonidas nor Maro knew.
Awhile the mast, in ruins dragg'd behind,
Balanc'd th' impression of the helm and wind:
The wounded serpent, agoniz'd with pain,
Thus trails his mangled volume on the plain:
But now, the wreck dissever'd from the rear,
The long reluctant prow began to veer;
And while around before the wind it falls,
Square all the yards! th' attentive master calls:
You, timoneers, her motion still attend!
For on your steerage all our lives depend.
So! steady! meet her; watch the blast behind,
And steer her right before the seas and wind!
Starboard again! the watchful pilot cries;
Starboard, th' obedient timoneer replies.
Then to the left the ruling helm returns;
The wheel revolves; the ringing axle burns.
The ship, no longer foundering by the lee,
Bears on her side th' invasions of the sea:
All lonely o'er the desart waste she flies,
Scourg'd on by surges, storm and bursting skies.
As when the masters of the lance assail,
In Hyperborean seas, the slumbering whale;
Soon as the javelins pierce his scaly hide,
With anguish stung, he cleaves the downward tide;
In vain he flies! no friendly respite found;
His life-blood gushes thro' th' inflaming wound:
The wounded bark, thus smarting with her pain,
Scuds from pursuing waves along the main;
While, dash'd apart by her dividing prow,
Like burning adamant the waters glow.
Her joints forget their firm elastic tone;
Her long keel trembles, and her timbers groan.
Upheav'd behind her, in tremendous height,
The billows frown, with fearful radiance bright!
Now shivering, o'er the top-mast wave she rides,
While deep beneath th' enormous gulf divides.
Now, launching headlong from the horrid vale,
She hears no more the roaring of the gale;
Till up the dreadful height again she flies,
Trembling beneath the current of the skies.
As that rebell'ous angel, who from heaven
To regions of eternal pain was driven;
When dreadless he forsook the Stygian shore,
The distant realms of Eden to explore;
Here, on sulphureous clouds sublime upheav'd,
With daring wing th' infernal air he cleav'd;
There in some hideous gulf descending prone,
Far in the rayless void of night was thrown:
E'en so she scales the briny mountain's height,
Then down the black abyss precipitates her flight.
The masts, around whose tops the whirlwinds sing,
With long vibration round her axle swing.
To guide the wayward course amid the gloom,
The watchful pilots different posts assume.
Albert and Rodmond, station'd on the rear,
With warning voice direct each timoneer.
High on the prow the guard Arion keeps,
To shun the cruizers wandering o'er the deeps;
Where'er he moves Palemon still attends,
As if on him his only hope depends;
While Rodmond, fearful of some neighb'ring shore,
Cries, ever and anon, look out afore!
Four hours thus scudding on the tide she flew,
When Falconera's rocky height they view;
High o'er it summit, thro' the gloom of night,
The glimmering watch-tower cast a mournful light.
In dire amazement rivetted they stand,
And hear the breakers lash the rugged strand:
But soon beyond this shore the vessel flies,
Swift as the rapid eagle cleaves the skies;
So from the fangs of her insatiate foe,
O'er the broad champain scuds the trembling roe.
That danger past, reflects a feeble joy;
But soon returning fears their hope destroy.
Thus, in th' Atlantic, oft' the sailor eyes,
While melting in the reign of softer skies,
Some Alp of ice, from polar regions blown,
Hail the glad influence of a warmer zone:
Its frozen cliffs attemper'd gales supply;
In cooling stream th' aerial billows fly;
A while deliver'd from the scorching heat,
In gentler tides the feverish pulses beat.
So, when their trembling vessel pass'd this isle,
Such visionary joys the crew beguile;
Th' illusive meteors of a lifeless fire!
Too soon they kindle, and too soon expire!
Balanc'd th' impression of the helm and wind:
The wounded serpent, agoniz'd with pain,
Thus trails his mangled volume on the plain:
But now, the wreck dissever'd from the rear,
The long reluctant prow began to veer;
61
Square all the yards! th' attentive master calls:
You, timoneers, her motion still attend!
For on your steerage all our lives depend.
So! steady! meet her; watch the blast behind,
And steer her right before the seas and wind!
Starboard again! the watchful pilot cries;
Starboard, th' obedient timoneer replies.
Then to the left the ruling helm returns;
The wheel revolves; the ringing axle burns.
The ship, no longer foundering by the lee,
Bears on her side th' invasions of the sea:
All lonely o'er the desart waste she flies,
Scourg'd on by surges, storm and bursting skies.
As when the masters of the lance assail,
In Hyperborean seas, the slumbering whale;
Soon as the javelins pierce his scaly hide,
With anguish stung, he cleaves the downward tide;
In vain he flies! no friendly respite found;
His life-blood gushes thro' th' inflaming wound:
The wounded bark, thus smarting with her pain,
Scuds from pursuing waves along the main;
While, dash'd apart by her dividing prow,
Like burning adamant the waters glow.
Her joints forget their firm elastic tone;
Her long keel trembles, and her timbers groan.
Upheav'd behind her, in tremendous height,
The billows frown, with fearful radiance bright!
Now shivering, o'er the top-mast wave she rides,
While deep beneath th' enormous gulf divides.
Now, launching headlong from the horrid vale,
She hears no more the roaring of the gale;
Till up the dreadful height again she flies,
Trembling beneath the current of the skies.
As that rebell'ous angel, who from heaven
To regions of eternal pain was driven;
62
The distant realms of Eden to explore;
Here, on sulphureous clouds sublime upheav'd,
With daring wing th' infernal air he cleav'd;
There in some hideous gulf descending prone,
Far in the rayless void of night was thrown:
E'en so she scales the briny mountain's height,
Then down the black abyss precipitates her flight.
The masts, around whose tops the whirlwinds sing,
With long vibration round her axle swing.
To guide the wayward course amid the gloom,
The watchful pilots different posts assume.
Albert and Rodmond, station'd on the rear,
With warning voice direct each timoneer.
High on the prow the guard Arion keeps,
To shun the cruizers wandering o'er the deeps;
Where'er he moves Palemon still attends,
As if on him his only hope depends;
While Rodmond, fearful of some neighb'ring shore,
Cries, ever and anon, look out afore!
Four hours thus scudding on the tide she flew,
When Falconera's rocky height they view;
High o'er it summit, thro' the gloom of night,
The glimmering watch-tower cast a mournful light.
In dire amazement rivetted they stand,
And hear the breakers lash the rugged strand:
But soon beyond this shore the vessel flies,
Swift as the rapid eagle cleaves the skies;
So from the fangs of her insatiate foe,
O'er the broad champain scuds the trembling roe.
That danger past, reflects a feeble joy;
But soon returning fears their hope destroy.
Thus, in th' Atlantic, oft' the sailor eyes,
While melting in the reign of softer skies,
Some Alp of ice, from polar regions blown,
Hail the glad influence of a warmer zone:
Its frozen cliffs attemper'd gales supply;
In cooling stream th' aerial billows fly;
A while deliver'd from the scorching heat,
In gentler tides the feverish pulses beat.
63
Such visionary joys the crew beguile;
Th' illusive meteors of a lifeless fire!
Too soon they kindle, and too soon expire!
Say, Memory! thou, from whose unerring tongue
Instructive flows the animated song;
What regions now the flying ship surround?
Regions of old, thro' all the world renown'd;
That, once the Poet's theme, the Muse's boast,
Now lie in ruins, in oblivion lost!
Did they, whose sad distress these lays deplore,
Unskill'd in Grecian or in Roman lore,
Unconscious pass each famous circling shore?
Instructive flows the animated song;
What regions now the flying ship surround?
Regions of old, thro' all the world renown'd;
That, once the Poet's theme, the Muse's boast,
Now lie in ruins, in oblivion lost!
Did they, whose sad distress these lays deplore,
Unskill'd in Grecian or in Roman lore,
Unconscious pass each famous circling shore?
They did; for blasted in the barren shade,
Here, all too soon, the buds of science fade:
Sad ocean's genius, in untimely hour,
Withers the bloom of every springing flower.
Here fancy droops, while sullen cloud and storm
The generous climate of the soul deform.
Then if, among the wandering, naval train,
One stripling, exil'd from th'Aonian plain,
Had 'ere, entranc'd in fancy's soothing dream,
Approach'd to taste the sweet Castalian stream,
(Since those salubrious streams, with power divine,
To purer sense the attemper'd soul refine)
His heart with liberal commerce here unblest,
Alien to joy! sincerer grief possess'd.
Yet on the youthful mind th' impression cast
Of ancient glory shall for ever last.
There all unquench'd by cruel fortune's ire,
It glows with unextinguishable fire.
Here, all too soon, the buds of science fade:
Sad ocean's genius, in untimely hour,
Withers the bloom of every springing flower.
Here fancy droops, while sullen cloud and storm
The generous climate of the soul deform.
Then if, among the wandering, naval train,
One stripling, exil'd from th'Aonian plain,
Had 'ere, entranc'd in fancy's soothing dream,
Approach'd to taste the sweet Castalian stream,
(Since those salubrious streams, with power divine,
To purer sense the attemper'd soul refine)
His heart with liberal commerce here unblest,
Alien to joy! sincerer grief possess'd.
Yet on the youthful mind th' impression cast
Of ancient glory shall for ever last.
There all unquench'd by cruel fortune's ire,
It glows with unextinguishable fire.
Immortal Athens first, in ruin spread,
Contiguous lies at Port Liono's head.
Great source of science! whose immortal name
Stands foremost in the glorious roll of fame.
Here godlike Socrates and Plato shone,
And, firm to truth, eternal honour won.
The first in Virtue's cause his life resign'd,
By Heav'n pronounc'd the wisest of mankind:
The last foretold the spark of vital fire,
The soul's fine essence, never cou'd expire,
Here Solon, dwelt, the philosophic sage,
That fled Pisistratus' vindictive rage.
Just Aristides here maintain'd the cause,
Whose sacred precepts shine thro' Solon's laws.
Of all her towering structures, now alone
Some scatter'd columns stand, with weeds o'ergrown.
The wandering stranger near the port descries
A milk-white lion of stupendous size;
Unknown the sculptor; marble is the frame;
And hence th' adjacent haven drew its name.
Contiguous lies at Port Liono's head.
Great source of science! whose immortal name
Stands foremost in the glorious roll of fame.
Here godlike Socrates and Plato shone,
And, firm to truth, eternal honour won.
The first in Virtue's cause his life resign'd,
By Heav'n pronounc'd the wisest of mankind:
64
The soul's fine essence, never cou'd expire,
Here Solon, dwelt, the philosophic sage,
That fled Pisistratus' vindictive rage.
Just Aristides here maintain'd the cause,
Whose sacred precepts shine thro' Solon's laws.
Of all her towering structures, now alone
Some scatter'd columns stand, with weeds o'ergrown.
The wandering stranger near the port descries
A milk-white lion of stupendous size;
Unknown the sculptor; marble is the frame;
And hence th' adjacent haven drew its name.
Next, in the gulf of Engia, Corinth lies,
Whose gorgeous fabric seems to strike the skies;
Whom, tho' by tyrant-victors oft' subdu'd,
Greece, Egypt, Rome, with awful wonder view'd;
Her names, for Pallas' heavenly arts renown'd,
Spread like the foliage which her pillars crown'd.
But now, in fatal desolation laid,
Oblivion o'er it draws a dismal shade.
Whose gorgeous fabric seems to strike the skies;
Whom, tho' by tyrant-victors oft' subdu'd,
Greece, Egypt, Rome, with awful wonder view'd;
Her names, for Pallas' heavenly arts renown'd,
Spread like the foliage which her pillars crown'd.
But now, in fatal desolation laid,
Oblivion o'er it draws a dismal shade.
Then, further westward, on Morea's land,
Fair Misitra! thy modern turrets stand.
Ah! who, unmov'd with secret woe, can tell
That here great Lacedæmon's glory fell?
Here once she flourish'd, at whose trumpet's sound
War burst his chains, and nations shook around.
Here brave Leonidas, from shore to shore,
Thro' all Achaia bade her thunders roar:
He, when imperial Xerxes, from afar,
Advanc'd with Persia's sumless troops to war,
Till Macedonia shrunk beneath his spear,
And Greece dismay'd beheld the chief draw near:
He, at Thermopylæ's immortal plain,
His force repel'd with Sparta's glorious train.
Tall Oeto saw the tyrant's conquer'd bands,
In gasping millions, bleed on hostile lands.
Thus vanquish'd Asia trembling heard thy name,
And Thebes and Athens sicken'd at thy fame!
Thy state, supported by Lycurgus' laws,
Drew, like thine arms, superlative applause.
E'en great Epaminondas strove in vain
To curb that spirit with a Theban chain.
But ah! how low her free-born spirits now!
Her abject sons to haughty tyrants bow;
A false, degenerate, superstitious race,
Infest thy region, and thy name disgrace!
Fair Misitra! thy modern turrets stand.
Ah! who, unmov'd with secret woe, can tell
That here great Lacedæmon's glory fell?
Here once she flourish'd, at whose trumpet's sound
War burst his chains, and nations shook around.
Here brave Leonidas, from shore to shore,
Thro' all Achaia bade her thunders roar:
He, when imperial Xerxes, from afar,
Advanc'd with Persia's sumless troops to war,
Till Macedonia shrunk beneath his spear,
And Greece dismay'd beheld the chief draw near:
He, at Thermopylæ's immortal plain,
His force repel'd with Sparta's glorious train.
Tall Oeto saw the tyrant's conquer'd bands,
In gasping millions, bleed on hostile lands.
Thus vanquish'd Asia trembling heard thy name,
And Thebes and Athens sicken'd at thy fame!
65
Drew, like thine arms, superlative applause.
E'en great Epaminondas strove in vain
To curb that spirit with a Theban chain.
But ah! how low her free-born spirits now!
Her abject sons to haughty tyrants bow;
A false, degenerate, superstitious race,
Infest thy region, and thy name disgrace!
Not distant far, Arcadia's blest domains,
Peloponesus' circling shore contains.
Thrice happy soil! where still serenely gay,
Indulgent Flora breath'd perpetual May;
Where buxom Ceres taught the obsequious field,
Rich without art, spontaneous gifts to yield.
Then with some rural nymph supremely blest,
While transport glow'd in each enamour'd breast,
Each faithful shepherd told his tender pain,
And sung of sylvan sports in artless strain.
Now, sad reverse! Oppression's iron hand
Enslaves her natives, and despoils the land.
In lawless rapine bred, a sanguine train,
With midnight ravage scour th' uncultur'd plain.
Peloponesus' circling shore contains.
Thrice happy soil! where still serenely gay,
Indulgent Flora breath'd perpetual May;
Where buxom Ceres taught the obsequious field,
Rich without art, spontaneous gifts to yield.
Then with some rural nymph supremely blest,
While transport glow'd in each enamour'd breast,
Each faithful shepherd told his tender pain,
And sung of sylvan sports in artless strain.
Now, sad reverse! Oppression's iron hand
Enslaves her natives, and despoils the land.
In lawless rapine bred, a sanguine train,
With midnight ravage scour th' uncultur'd plain.
Westward of these, beyond the Isthmus, lies
The long-lost Isle of Ithacus the wise;
Where long Penelope her absent lord
Full twice ten years with faithful love deplor'd.
Tho' many a princely heart her beauty won,
She, guarded only by her stripling son,
Each bold attempt of suitor-kings repel'd,
And undefil'd the nuptial contract held.
With various arts to win her love they toil'd,
But all their wiles by virtuous fraud she foil'd.
True to her vows, and resolutely chaste,
The beauteous princess triumph'd at the last.
The long-lost Isle of Ithacus the wise;
Where long Penelope her absent lord
Full twice ten years with faithful love deplor'd.
Tho' many a princely heart her beauty won,
She, guarded only by her stripling son,
Each bold attempt of suitor-kings repel'd,
And undefil'd the nuptial contract held.
With various arts to win her love they toil'd,
But all their wiles by virtuous fraud she foil'd.
True to her vows, and resolutely chaste,
The beauteous princess triumph'd at the last.
Argos, in Greece forgotten and unknown,
Still seems her cruel fortune to bemoan;
Argos, whose monarch led the Grecian hosts,
Far o'er the Ægean main to Dardan's coasts.
Unhappy prince! who, on a hostile shore,
Toil; peril, anguish, ten long winters bore;
And when to native realms restor'd at last,
To reap the harvest of thy labours past,
A perjur'd friend, alas! and faithless wife,
There sacrific'd to impious lust thy life!
Fast by Arcadia stretch these desart plains,
And o'er the land a gloomy tyrant reigns.
Still seems her cruel fortune to bemoan;
Argos, whose monarch led the Grecian hosts,
Far o'er the Ægean main to Dardan's coasts.
Unhappy prince! who, on a hostile shore,
Toil; peril, anguish, ten long winters bore;
66
To reap the harvest of thy labours past,
A perjur'd friend, alas! and faithless wife,
There sacrific'd to impious lust thy life!
Fast by Arcadia stretch these desart plains,
And o'er the land a gloomy tyrant reigns.
Next the fair isle of Helena
is seen,
Where adverse winds detain'd the Spartan queen;
For whom, in arms combin'd, the Grecian host,
With vengeance fir'd, invaded Phrygia's coast;
For whom so long they labour'd to destroy
The sacred turrets of imperial Troy.
Here, driven by Juno's rage, the hapless dame,
Forlorn of heart, from ruin'd Ilion came.
The port an image bears of Parian stone,
Of ancient fabric, but of date unknown.
Where adverse winds detain'd the Spartan queen;
For whom, in arms combin'd, the Grecian host,
With vengeance fir'd, invaded Phrygia's coast;
For whom so long they labour'd to destroy
The sacred turrets of imperial Troy.
Here, driven by Juno's rage, the hapless dame,
Forlorn of heart, from ruin'd Ilion came.
The port an image bears of Parian stone,
Of ancient fabric, but of date unknown.
Due east from this appears th' immortal shore
That sacred Phœbus and Diana bore:
Delos, thro' all the Ægean seas renown'd!
(Whose coast the rocky Cyclades surround)
By Phœbus honour'd, and by Greece rever'd;
Her hallow'd groves e'en distant Persia fear'd.
But now a silent unfrequented land!
No human footstep marks the trackless sand.
Thence to the north, by Asia's western bound,
Fair Lemnos stands, with rising marble crown'd;
Where, in her rage, avenging Juno hurl'd
Ill-fat'd Vulcan from th' æthereal world.
There his eternal anvils first he rear'd;
Then, forg'd by Cyclopean art, appear'd
Thunders, that shook the skies with dire alarms,
And form'd, by skill divine, Vulcanian arms.
There, with this cripple wretch, the foul disgrace
And living scandal of the empyreal race,
The beauteous Queen of Love in wedlock dwelt:
In fires profane can heavenly bosoms melt?
That sacred Phœbus and Diana bore:
Delos, thro' all the Ægean seas renown'd!
(Whose coast the rocky Cyclades surround)
By Phœbus honour'd, and by Greece rever'd;
Her hallow'd groves e'en distant Persia fear'd.
But now a silent unfrequented land!
No human footstep marks the trackless sand.
Thence to the north, by Asia's western bound,
Fair Lemnos stands, with rising marble crown'd;
Where, in her rage, avenging Juno hurl'd
Ill-fat'd Vulcan from th' æthereal world.
There his eternal anvils first he rear'd;
Then, forg'd by Cyclopean art, appear'd
Thunders, that shook the skies with dire alarms,
And form'd, by skill divine, Vulcanian arms.
There, with this cripple wretch, the foul disgrace
And living scandal of the empyreal race,
The beauteous Queen of Love in wedlock dwelt:
In fires profane can heavenly bosoms melt?
Eastward of this appears the Dardan shore,
That once the imperial towers of Ilium bore.
Illustrious Troy! renown'd in every clime,
Thro' the long annals of unfolding time!
How oft', thy royal bulwarks to defend,
Thou saw'st the tut'lar gods in vain descend!
Tho' chiefs unnumber'd in her cause were slain,
Tho' nations perish'd on her bloody plain,
That refuge of perfidious Helen's shame
Was doom'd at length to sink in Grecian flame:
And now by Time's deep plough-share hallow'd o'er,
The seat of sacred Troy is found no more.
No trace of all her glories now remains;
But corn and vines enrich her cultur'd plains.
Silver Scamander laves the verdant shore;
Scamander oft' o'erflow'd with hostile gore!
That once the imperial towers of Ilium bore.
67
Thro' the long annals of unfolding time!
How oft', thy royal bulwarks to defend,
Thou saw'st the tut'lar gods in vain descend!
Tho' chiefs unnumber'd in her cause were slain,
Tho' nations perish'd on her bloody plain,
That refuge of perfidious Helen's shame
Was doom'd at length to sink in Grecian flame:
And now by Time's deep plough-share hallow'd o'er,
The seat of sacred Troy is found no more.
No trace of all her glories now remains;
But corn and vines enrich her cultur'd plains.
Silver Scamander laves the verdant shore;
Scamander oft' o'erflow'd with hostile gore!
Not far remov'd from Ilion's famous land,
In counter-view appears the Thracian strand;
Where beauteous Hero, from the turret's height,
Display'd her crescent each revolving night;
Whose gleam directed lov'd Leander o'er
The rolling Hellespont to Asia's shore;
Till, in a fated hour, on Thracia's coast
She saw her lover's lifeless body tost.
Then felt her bosom agony severe;
Her eyes sad gazing, pour'd th' incessant tear;
O'erwhelm'd with anguish, frantic with despair,
She beat her beauteous breast and tore her hair:
On dear Leander's name in vain she cry'd;
Then headlong plung'd into the parting tide.
The parting tide receiv'd the lovely weight,
And proudly flow'd, exulting in its freight.
In counter-view appears the Thracian strand;
Where beauteous Hero, from the turret's height,
Display'd her crescent each revolving night;
Whose gleam directed lov'd Leander o'er
The rolling Hellespont to Asia's shore;
Till, in a fated hour, on Thracia's coast
She saw her lover's lifeless body tost.
Then felt her bosom agony severe;
Her eyes sad gazing, pour'd th' incessant tear;
O'erwhelm'd with anguish, frantic with despair,
She beat her beauteous breast and tore her hair:
On dear Leander's name in vain she cry'd;
Then headlong plung'd into the parting tide.
The parting tide receiv'd the lovely weight,
And proudly flow'd, exulting in its freight.
Far west of Thrace, beyond the Ægean main,
Remote from ocean, lies the Delphic plain.
The sacred oracle of Phœbus there
High o'er the mount arose, divinely fair!
Achaian marble form'd the gorgeous pile;
August the fabric! elegant its style!
On brazen hinges turn'd the silver doors,
And chequer'd marble pav'd the polish'd floors.
The roofs, where storied tabletures appear'd,
On columns of Corinthian mould were rear'd;
Of shining porphyry the shafts were fram'd,
And round the hollow dome bright jewels flam'd.
Apollo's suppliant priests, a blameless train!
Fram'd their oblations on the holy fane:
To front the sun's declining ray 'twas plac'd:
With golden harps and living laurels grac'd.
The sciences and arts around the shrine,
Conspicuous shone, engrav'd by hands divine.
Here Æsculapius' snake display'd his crest,
And burning glories sparkl'd on his breast;
While from his eye's insufferable light
Disease and death recoil'd in headlong flight.
Of this great temple, thro' all time renown'd,
Sunk in oblivion, no remains are found.
Remote from ocean, lies the Delphic plain.
The sacred oracle of Phœbus there
High o'er the mount arose, divinely fair!
Achaian marble form'd the gorgeous pile;
August the fabric! elegant its style!
On brazen hinges turn'd the silver doors,
And chequer'd marble pav'd the polish'd floors.
The roofs, where storied tabletures appear'd,
On columns of Corinthian mould were rear'd;
68
And round the hollow dome bright jewels flam'd.
Apollo's suppliant priests, a blameless train!
Fram'd their oblations on the holy fane:
To front the sun's declining ray 'twas plac'd:
With golden harps and living laurels grac'd.
The sciences and arts around the shrine,
Conspicuous shone, engrav'd by hands divine.
Here Æsculapius' snake display'd his crest,
And burning glories sparkl'd on his breast;
While from his eye's insufferable light
Disease and death recoil'd in headlong flight.
Of this great temple, thro' all time renown'd,
Sunk in oblivion, no remains are found.
Contiguous here, with hollow woods o'erspread,
Parnassus lifts to heav'n its honour'd head:
Where from the deluge sav'd by Heav'n's command,
Deucalion, leading Pyrrhe hand in hand,
Repeopled all the desolated land.
Around the scene unfading laurels grow,
And aromatic flow'rs for ever blow.
The winged choirs on every tree above,
Carol sweet numbers thro' the vocal grove;
While o'er th'eternal spring, that smiles beneath,
Young Zephyrs, borne on rosy pinions, breathe.
Fair daughters of the sun! the sacred Nine,
Here wake to ecstacy their songs divine;
Or, crown'd with myrtle, in some sweet alcove,
Attune the tender strings to bleeding love.
All sadly sweet the balmy currents roll,
Soothing to softest peace the tortur'd soul.
While hill and vale with choral voice around
The music of immortal harps resound,
Fair Pleasure leads in dance the happy hours,
Still scattering where she moves Elysian flowers!
Parnassus lifts to heav'n its honour'd head:
Where from the deluge sav'd by Heav'n's command,
Deucalion, leading Pyrrhe hand in hand,
Repeopled all the desolated land.
Around the scene unfading laurels grow,
And aromatic flow'rs for ever blow.
The winged choirs on every tree above,
Carol sweet numbers thro' the vocal grove;
While o'er th'eternal spring, that smiles beneath,
Young Zephyrs, borne on rosy pinions, breathe.
Fair daughters of the sun! the sacred Nine,
Here wake to ecstacy their songs divine;
Or, crown'd with myrtle, in some sweet alcove,
Attune the tender strings to bleeding love.
All sadly sweet the balmy currents roll,
Soothing to softest peace the tortur'd soul.
While hill and vale with choral voice around
The music of immortal harps resound,
Fair Pleasure leads in dance the happy hours,
Still scattering where she moves Elysian flowers!
E'en now the strains, with sweet contagion fraught,
Shed a delicious languor o'er the thought.
Adieu, ye vales, that smiling peace bestow,
Where Eden's blossoms, ever-vernal, blow!
Adieu, ye streams, that o'er inchanted ground
In lucid maze th'Aonian hill surround!
Ye Fairy scenes, where Fancy loves to dwell,
And young Delight, for ever, oh, farewel!
The soul with tender luxury you fill,
And o'er the sense Lethean dews distil!
Awake, O Memory, from th' inglorious dream!
With brazen lungs resume the kindling theme!
Collect thy pow'rs! arouse thy vital fire!
Ye spirits of the storm, my verse inspire!
Hoarse as the whirlwinds that enrage the main,
In torrents pour along the swelling strain!
Shed a delicious languor o'er the thought.
Adieu, ye vales, that smiling peace bestow,
Where Eden's blossoms, ever-vernal, blow!
69
In lucid maze th'Aonian hill surround!
Ye Fairy scenes, where Fancy loves to dwell,
And young Delight, for ever, oh, farewel!
The soul with tender luxury you fill,
And o'er the sense Lethean dews distil!
Awake, O Memory, from th' inglorious dream!
With brazen lungs resume the kindling theme!
Collect thy pow'rs! arouse thy vital fire!
Ye spirits of the storm, my verse inspire!
Hoarse as the whirlwinds that enrage the main,
In torrents pour along the swelling strain!
Now, borne impetuous o'er the boiling deeps,
Her course to Attic shores the vessel keeps:
The pilots, as the waves behind her swell,
Still with the wheeling stern their force repel.
For this assault shou'd either quarter feel,
Again to flank the tempest she might reel,
The steersmen every bidden turn apply;
To right and left the spokes alternate fly.
Thus when some conquer'd host retreats in fear,
The bravest leaders guard the broken rear;
Indignant they retire, and long oppose
Superior armies, that around them close;
Still shield the flanks; the routed squadrons join;
And guide the flight in one embodied line;
So they direct the flying bark before
Th' impelling floods that lash her to the shore.
As some benighted traveller, thro' the shade,
Explores the devious path with heart dismay'd;
While prowling savages behind him roar,
And yawning pits and quagmires lurk before;
High o'er the poop th' audacious seas aspire,
Uproll'd in hills of fluctuating fire.
As some fell conqu'ror frantic with success,
Sheds o'er the nation ruin and distress;
So while the wat'ry wilderness he roams,
Incens'd to sevenfold rage the tempest foams;
And o'er the trembling pines, above, below,
Shrill thro' the cordage howls with notes of woe.
Now thunders, wafting from the burning zone,
Growl from afar, a deaf and hollow groan!
The ship's high battlements, to either side
For ever rocking, drink the briny tide:
Her joints unhing'd, in palsied languors play,
As ice dissolves beneath the noon-tide-ray.
The skies asunder torn, a deluge pour;
Th' impetuous hail descends in whirling show'r.
High on the masts, with pale and livid rays,
Amid the gloom portentous meteors blaze.
Th' æthereal doom, in mournful pomp array'd,
Now lurks behind impenetrable shade;
Now, flashing round intolerable light,
Redoubles all the terrors of the night.
Such terror Sinai's quaking hill o'erspread,
When Heav'n's loud trumpet sounded o'er his head.
It seem'd, the wrathful Angel of the wind
Had all the horrors of the skies combin'd;
And here, to one ill-fated ship oppos'd,
At once the dreadful magazine disclos'd.
And lo! tremendous o'er the deep he springs,
Th' inflaming sulphur flashing from his wings!
Hark! his strong voice the dismal silence breaks!
Mad chaos from the chains of death awakes!
Loud and more loud the rolling peals enlarge,
And blue on deck their blazing sides discharge;
There, all aghast, the shivering wretches stood,
While chill suspense and fear congeal'd their blood.
Now in a deluge bursts the living flame,
And dread concussion rends th' æthereal frame:
Sick earth convulsive groans from shore to shore,
And nature shuddering feels the horrid roar.
Her course to Attic shores the vessel keeps:
The pilots, as the waves behind her swell,
Still with the wheeling stern their force repel.
For this assault shou'd either quarter feel,
Again to flank the tempest she might reel,
The steersmen every bidden turn apply;
To right and left the spokes alternate fly.
Thus when some conquer'd host retreats in fear,
The bravest leaders guard the broken rear;
Indignant they retire, and long oppose
Superior armies, that around them close;
Still shield the flanks; the routed squadrons join;
And guide the flight in one embodied line;
So they direct the flying bark before
Th' impelling floods that lash her to the shore.
As some benighted traveller, thro' the shade,
Explores the devious path with heart dismay'd;
While prowling savages behind him roar,
And yawning pits and quagmires lurk before;
High o'er the poop th' audacious seas aspire,
Uproll'd in hills of fluctuating fire.
As some fell conqu'ror frantic with success,
Sheds o'er the nation ruin and distress;
So while the wat'ry wilderness he roams,
Incens'd to sevenfold rage the tempest foams;
70
Shrill thro' the cordage howls with notes of woe.
Now thunders, wafting from the burning zone,
Growl from afar, a deaf and hollow groan!
The ship's high battlements, to either side
For ever rocking, drink the briny tide:
Her joints unhing'd, in palsied languors play,
As ice dissolves beneath the noon-tide-ray.
The skies asunder torn, a deluge pour;
Th' impetuous hail descends in whirling show'r.
High on the masts, with pale and livid rays,
Amid the gloom portentous meteors blaze.
Th' æthereal doom, in mournful pomp array'd,
Now lurks behind impenetrable shade;
Now, flashing round intolerable light,
Redoubles all the terrors of the night.
Such terror Sinai's quaking hill o'erspread,
When Heav'n's loud trumpet sounded o'er his head.
It seem'd, the wrathful Angel of the wind
Had all the horrors of the skies combin'd;
And here, to one ill-fated ship oppos'd,
At once the dreadful magazine disclos'd.
And lo! tremendous o'er the deep he springs,
Th' inflaming sulphur flashing from his wings!
Hark! his strong voice the dismal silence breaks!
Mad chaos from the chains of death awakes!
Loud and more loud the rolling peals enlarge,
And blue on deck their blazing sides discharge;
There, all aghast, the shivering wretches stood,
While chill suspense and fear congeal'd their blood.
Now in a deluge bursts the living flame,
And dread concussion rends th' æthereal frame:
Sick earth convulsive groans from shore to shore,
And nature shuddering feels the horrid roar.
Still the sad prospect rises on my sight,
Reveal'd in all its mournful shade and light.
Swift thro' my pulses glides the kindling fire,
As lightning glances on th' electric wire.
But ah! the force of numbers strives in vain
The glowing scene unequal to sustain.
Reveal'd in all its mournful shade and light.
Swift thro' my pulses glides the kindling fire,
As lightning glances on th' electric wire.
But ah! the force of numbers strives in vain
The glowing scene unequal to sustain.
71
But lo! at last, from tenfold darkness borne,
Forth issues o'er the wave the weeping morn.
Hail! sacred vision! who, on orient wings,
The cheerful dawn of light propitious brings!
All nature smiling hail'd the vivid ray,
That gave her beauties to returning day:
All but our ship, that, groaning on the tide,
No kind relief, no gleam of hope descry'd.
For now, in front, her trembling inmates see
The hills of Greece emerging on the lee.
So the lost lover views that fatal morn,
On which, for ever, from his bosom torn,
The nymph ador'd resigns her blooming charms,
To bless with love some happier rival's arms;
So to Eliza dawn'd that cruel day,
That tore Æneas from her arms away;
That saw him parting, never to return,
Herself in funeral flames decreed to burn.
O yet in clouds, thou genial source of light,
Conceal thy radiant glories from our sight!
Go, with thy smile adorn the happy plain,
And gild the scenes where health and pleasure reign;
But let not here, in scorn, thy wanton beam
Insult the dreadful grandeur of my theme!
Forth issues o'er the wave the weeping morn.
Hail! sacred vision! who, on orient wings,
The cheerful dawn of light propitious brings!
All nature smiling hail'd the vivid ray,
That gave her beauties to returning day:
All but our ship, that, groaning on the tide,
No kind relief, no gleam of hope descry'd.
For now, in front, her trembling inmates see
The hills of Greece emerging on the lee.
So the lost lover views that fatal morn,
On which, for ever, from his bosom torn,
The nymph ador'd resigns her blooming charms,
To bless with love some happier rival's arms;
So to Eliza dawn'd that cruel day,
That tore Æneas from her arms away;
That saw him parting, never to return,
Herself in funeral flames decreed to burn.
O yet in clouds, thou genial source of light,
Conceal thy radiant glories from our sight!
Go, with thy smile adorn the happy plain,
And gild the scenes where health and pleasure reign;
But let not here, in scorn, thy wanton beam
Insult the dreadful grandeur of my theme!
While shoreward now the bounding vessel flies,
Full in her van St. George's cliffs arise:
High o'er the rest a pointed crag is seen,
That hung projecting o'er a mossy green.
Nearer and nearer now the danger grows,
And all their skill relentless fate oppose.
For, while more eastward they direct the prow,
Enormous waves the quivering deck o'erflow.
While, as she wheels, unable to subdue
Her sallies, still they dread her broaching-to.
Alarming thought! for now no more a-lee
Her riven side could bear th' invading sea;
And if the following surge she scuds before,
Headlong she runs upon the dreadful shore;
A shore where shelves and hidden rocks abound,
Where death in secret ambush lurks around.
Far less dismay'd, Anchises wand'ring son
Was seen the straits of Sicily to shun;
When Palinurus, from the helm, descry'd
The rocks of Scylla on his eastern side;
While in the west, with hideous yawn disclos'd,
His onward path Charybdis' gulf oppos'd.
The double danger, as by turns he view'd,
His wheeling bark her arduous track pursu'd.
Thus, while to right and left destruction lies,
Between the extremes the daring vessel flies.
With boundless involution, bursting o'er
The marble cliffs, loud dashing surges roar.
Hoarse thro' each winding creek the tempest raves,
And hollow rocks repeat the groan of waves.
Destruction round the insatiate coast prepares,
To crush the trembling ship unnumber'd snares.
But haply now she 'scapes the fatal strand,
Tho' scarce ten fathoms distant from the land.
Swift as the weapon issuing from the bow,
She cleaves the burning waters with her prow;
And forward leaping with tumultuous haste,
As on the tempest's wing, the isle she past.
With longing eyes and agony of mind,
The sailors view this refuge left behind;
Happy to bribe, with India's richest ore,
A safe accession to that barren shore!
Full in her van St. George's cliffs arise:
High o'er the rest a pointed crag is seen,
That hung projecting o'er a mossy green.
Nearer and nearer now the danger grows,
And all their skill relentless fate oppose.
For, while more eastward they direct the prow,
Enormous waves the quivering deck o'erflow.
While, as she wheels, unable to subdue
Her sallies, still they dread her broaching-to.
Alarming thought! for now no more a-lee
Her riven side could bear th' invading sea;
72
Headlong she runs upon the dreadful shore;
A shore where shelves and hidden rocks abound,
Where death in secret ambush lurks around.
Far less dismay'd, Anchises wand'ring son
Was seen the straits of Sicily to shun;
When Palinurus, from the helm, descry'd
The rocks of Scylla on his eastern side;
While in the west, with hideous yawn disclos'd,
His onward path Charybdis' gulf oppos'd.
The double danger, as by turns he view'd,
His wheeling bark her arduous track pursu'd.
Thus, while to right and left destruction lies,
Between the extremes the daring vessel flies.
With boundless involution, bursting o'er
The marble cliffs, loud dashing surges roar.
Hoarse thro' each winding creek the tempest raves,
And hollow rocks repeat the groan of waves.
Destruction round the insatiate coast prepares,
To crush the trembling ship unnumber'd snares.
But haply now she 'scapes the fatal strand,
Tho' scarce ten fathoms distant from the land.
Swift as the weapon issuing from the bow,
She cleaves the burning waters with her prow;
And forward leaping with tumultuous haste,
As on the tempest's wing, the isle she past.
With longing eyes and agony of mind,
The sailors view this refuge left behind;
Happy to bribe, with India's richest ore,
A safe accession to that barren shore!
When in the dark Peruvian mine confin'd,
Lost to the cheerful commerce of mankind,
The groaning captive wastes his life away,
For ever exil'd from the realms of day;
Not equal pangs his bosom agonize,
When far above the sacred light he eyes;
While, all-forlorn, the victim pines in vain
For scenes he never shall possess again.
Lost to the cheerful commerce of mankind,
The groaning captive wastes his life away,
For ever exil'd from the realms of day;
Not equal pangs his bosom agonize,
When far above the sacred light he eyes;
While, all-forlorn, the victim pines in vain
For scenes he never shall possess again.
But now Athenian mountains they descry,
And o'er the surge Colonna frowns on high.
Beside the cape's projecting verge is plac'd
A range of columns, long by time defac'd;
First planted by devotion, to sustain,
In elder times, Tritonia's sacred fane.
Foams the wild beach below with mad'ning rage,
Where waves and rocks a dreadful combat wage.
The sickly heav'n, fermenting with its freight,
Still vomits o'er the main the feverish weight:
And now, while wing'd with ruin from on high,
Thro' the rent cloud the raging lightnings fly,
A flash, quick glancing on the nerves of light,
Struck the pale helmsman with eternal night:
Rodmond, who heard a piteous groan behind,
Touch'd with compassion, gaz'd upon the blind;
And, while around his sad companions crowd
He guides th' unhappy victim to the shroud.
Hie thee aloft, my gallant friend, he cries;
Thy only succour on the mast relies!
The helm, bereft of half its vital force,
Now scarce subdu'd th' wild unbridl'd course.
Quick to th' abandon'd wheel Arion came,
The ship's tempestuous sallies to reclaim:
Amaz'd he saw her, o'er the sounding foam
Upborne, to right and left distracted roam.
So gaz'd young Phaëton, with pale dismay,
When mounted on the flaming car of day.
With rash and impious hand th' stripling try'd
Th' immortal coursers of th' sun to guide.
The vessel, while th' dread events draw nigh,
Seems more impatient o'er the waves to fly:
Fate spurs her on. Thus issuing from afar,
Advances to the sun some blazing star;
And, as it feels th' attraction's kindling force,
Springs onward with accelerated course.
And o'er the surge Colonna frowns on high.
73
A range of columns, long by time defac'd;
First planted by devotion, to sustain,
In elder times, Tritonia's sacred fane.
Foams the wild beach below with mad'ning rage,
Where waves and rocks a dreadful combat wage.
The sickly heav'n, fermenting with its freight,
Still vomits o'er the main the feverish weight:
And now, while wing'd with ruin from on high,
Thro' the rent cloud the raging lightnings fly,
A flash, quick glancing on the nerves of light,
Struck the pale helmsman with eternal night:
Rodmond, who heard a piteous groan behind,
Touch'd with compassion, gaz'd upon the blind;
And, while around his sad companions crowd
He guides th' unhappy victim to the shroud.
Hie thee aloft, my gallant friend, he cries;
Thy only succour on the mast relies!
The helm, bereft of half its vital force,
Now scarce subdu'd th' wild unbridl'd course.
Quick to th' abandon'd wheel Arion came,
The ship's tempestuous sallies to reclaim:
Amaz'd he saw her, o'er the sounding foam
Upborne, to right and left distracted roam.
So gaz'd young Phaëton, with pale dismay,
When mounted on the flaming car of day.
With rash and impious hand th' stripling try'd
Th' immortal coursers of th' sun to guide.
The vessel, while th' dread events draw nigh,
Seems more impatient o'er the waves to fly:
Fate spurs her on. Thus issuing from afar,
Advances to the sun some blazing star;
And, as it feels th' attraction's kindling force,
Springs onward with accelerated course.
With mournful look the seamen ey'd the strand,
Where Death's inexorable jaws expand.
Swift from their minds elaps'd all dangers past,
As, dumb with terror, they beheld the last.
Now, on the trembling shrouds, before, behind,
In mute suspense they mount into the wind.
The Genius of the deep. on rapid wing,
The black eventful moment seem'd to bring.
The fatal Sisters, on th' surge before,
Yok'd their infernal horses to the prore.
The steersmen now receiv'd their last command,
To wheel the vessel sidelong to the strand:
Twelve sailors, on the foremast who depend,
High on the platform of the top ascend;
Fatal retreat! for while the plunging prow
Immerges headlong in the wave below,
Down-prest by wat'ry weight, the bowsprit bends,
And from above th' stern deep crashing rends.
Beneath her beak the floating ruin lie;
The foremast totters, unsustain'd on high:
And now the ship, forelifted by the sea,
Hurls the tall fabric backward o'er her lee;
While in th' general wreck, the faithful stay
Drags the main-topmast from its post away.
Flung from the mast, the seamen strive in vain,
Thro' hostile floods, their vessel to regain.
The waves they buffet, till, bereft of strength,
O'erpow'red they yield to cruel fate at length;
The hostile waters close around their head;
They sink for ever, number'd with the dead!
Where Death's inexorable jaws expand.
Swift from their minds elaps'd all dangers past,
As, dumb with terror, they beheld the last.
Now, on the trembling shrouds, before, behind,
In mute suspense they mount into the wind.
74
The black eventful moment seem'd to bring.
The fatal Sisters, on th' surge before,
Yok'd their infernal horses to the prore.
The steersmen now receiv'd their last command,
To wheel the vessel sidelong to the strand:
Twelve sailors, on the foremast who depend,
High on the platform of the top ascend;
Fatal retreat! for while the plunging prow
Immerges headlong in the wave below,
Down-prest by wat'ry weight, the bowsprit bends,
And from above th' stern deep crashing rends.
Beneath her beak the floating ruin lie;
The foremast totters, unsustain'd on high:
And now the ship, forelifted by the sea,
Hurls the tall fabric backward o'er her lee;
While in th' general wreck, the faithful stay
Drags the main-topmast from its post away.
Flung from the mast, the seamen strive in vain,
Thro' hostile floods, their vessel to regain.
The waves they buffet, till, bereft of strength,
O'erpow'red they yield to cruel fate at length;
The hostile waters close around their head;
They sink for ever, number'd with the dead!
Those who remain their fearful doom await,
Nor longer mourn their lost companions' fate.
The heart that bleeds with sorrows all its own,
Forgets the pangs of friendship to bemoan.
Albert, and Rodmond, and Palemon here,
With young Arion, on the mast appear;
E'en they, amid th' unspeakable distress,
In every look distracting thoughts confess;
In every vein the refluent blood congeals,
And every bosom fatal terror feels.
Inclos'd with all the demons of the main,
They view'd th' adjacent shore, but view'd in vain.
Such torments in the drear abodes of hell,
Where sad despair laments with rueful yell,
Such torments agonize the damned breast,
While fancy views the mansions of the blest.
For Heaven's sweet help their suppliant cries implore;
But Heaven, relentless, deigns to help no more!
Nor longer mourn their lost companions' fate.
The heart that bleeds with sorrows all its own,
Forgets the pangs of friendship to bemoan.
Albert, and Rodmond, and Palemon here,
With young Arion, on the mast appear;
E'en they, amid th' unspeakable distress,
In every look distracting thoughts confess;
In every vein the refluent blood congeals,
And every bosom fatal terror feels.
Inclos'd with all the demons of the main,
They view'd th' adjacent shore, but view'd in vain.
Such torments in the drear abodes of hell,
Where sad despair laments with rueful yell,
Such torments agonize the damned breast,
While fancy views the mansions of the blest.
75
But Heaven, relentless, deigns to help no more!
And now lash'd on by destiny severe,
With horror fraught, the dreadful scene drew near!
The ship hangs hovering on the verge of death;
Hell yawns, rocks rise, and breakers roar beneath!
In vain, alas! the sacred shades of yore
Would arm the mind with philosophic lore;
In vain they'd teach us, at the latest breath,
To smile serene amid the pangs of death.
E'en Zeno's self, and Epictetus old,
This fell abyss had shudder'd to behold.
Had Socrates, for godlike virtue fam'd,
And wisest of the sons of men proclaim'd,
Beheld this scene of frenzy and distress,
His soul had trembled to its last recess!
O yet confirm my heart, ye powers above,
This last tremendous shock of fate to prove.
The tottering frame of reason yet sustain!
Nor let this total ruin whirl my brain!
With horror fraught, the dreadful scene drew near!
The ship hangs hovering on the verge of death;
Hell yawns, rocks rise, and breakers roar beneath!
In vain, alas! the sacred shades of yore
Would arm the mind with philosophic lore;
In vain they'd teach us, at the latest breath,
To smile serene amid the pangs of death.
E'en Zeno's self, and Epictetus old,
This fell abyss had shudder'd to behold.
Had Socrates, for godlike virtue fam'd,
And wisest of the sons of men proclaim'd,
Beheld this scene of frenzy and distress,
His soul had trembled to its last recess!
O yet confirm my heart, ye powers above,
This last tremendous shock of fate to prove.
The tottering frame of reason yet sustain!
Nor let this total ruin whirl my brain!
In vain the cords and axes were prepar'd,
For now th' audacious seas insult the yard;
High o'er the ship they throw a horrid shade,
And o'er her burst in terrible cascade.
Uplifted on the surge, to heaven she flies,
Her shatter'd top half buried in the skies;
Then headlong plunging thunders on the ground;
Earth groans! air trembles! and the deeps resound!
Her giant bulk the dread concussion feels,
And, quivering with the wound, in torment, reels.
So reels, convuls'd with agonizing throws,
The bleading bull beneath the murd'rer's blows.
Again she plunges! hark! a second shock
Tears her strong bottom on the marble rock!
Down on the vale of death, with dismal cries,
The fated victims shuddering roll their eyes
In wild despair; while yet another stroke,
With deep convulsion, rends the solid oak;
Till, like the mine, in whose infernal cell
The lurking demons of destruction dwell.
At length asunder torn her frame divides,
And crashing spreads in ruins o'er the tides.
For now th' audacious seas insult the yard;
High o'er the ship they throw a horrid shade,
And o'er her burst in terrible cascade.
Uplifted on the surge, to heaven she flies,
Her shatter'd top half buried in the skies;
Then headlong plunging thunders on the ground;
Earth groans! air trembles! and the deeps resound!
Her giant bulk the dread concussion feels,
And, quivering with the wound, in torment, reels.
So reels, convuls'd with agonizing throws,
The bleading bull beneath the murd'rer's blows.
Again she plunges! hark! a second shock
Tears her strong bottom on the marble rock!
Down on the vale of death, with dismal cries,
The fated victims shuddering roll their eyes
In wild despair; while yet another stroke,
With deep convulsion, rends the solid oak;
Till, like the mine, in whose infernal cell
The lurking demons of destruction dwell.
76
And crashing spreads in ruins o'er the tides.
O were it mine with tuneful Maro's art
To wake to sympathy the feeling heart;
Like him the smooth and mournful verse to dress
In all the pomp of exquisite distress!
Then, too severely taught by cruel fate
To share in all the perils I relate,
Then might I with unrivall'd strains deplore
Th' impervious horrors of a leeward shore.
As o'er the surge the stooping main-mast hung,
Still on the rigging thirty seamen clung:
Some, struggling, on a broken crag were cast,
And there by oozy tangles grappled fast:
Awhile they bore th' o'erwhelming billows' rage,
Unequal combat with their fate to wage;
Till, all benumb'd and feeble, they forego
Their slippery hold, and sink to shades below.
Some, from the main-yard-arm impetuous thrown
On marble ridges, die without a groan.
Three with Palemon on their skill depend,
And from the wreck on oars and rafts descend.
Now on the mountain-wave on high they ride,
Then downward plunge beneath th' involving tide;
Till one, who seems in agony to strive,
The whirling breakers heaves on shore alive;
The rest a speedier end of anguish knew,
And prest the stony beach, a lifeless crew!
To wake to sympathy the feeling heart;
Like him the smooth and mournful verse to dress
In all the pomp of exquisite distress!
Then, too severely taught by cruel fate
To share in all the perils I relate,
Then might I with unrivall'd strains deplore
Th' impervious horrors of a leeward shore.
As o'er the surge the stooping main-mast hung,
Still on the rigging thirty seamen clung:
Some, struggling, on a broken crag were cast,
And there by oozy tangles grappled fast:
Awhile they bore th' o'erwhelming billows' rage,
Unequal combat with their fate to wage;
Till, all benumb'd and feeble, they forego
Their slippery hold, and sink to shades below.
Some, from the main-yard-arm impetuous thrown
On marble ridges, die without a groan.
Three with Palemon on their skill depend,
And from the wreck on oars and rafts descend.
Now on the mountain-wave on high they ride,
Then downward plunge beneath th' involving tide;
Till one, who seems in agony to strive,
The whirling breakers heaves on shore alive;
The rest a speedier end of anguish knew,
And prest the stony beach, a lifeless crew!
Next, O unhappy Chief! th' eternal doom
Of Heaven decreed thee to the briny tomb:
What scenes of misery torment thy view!
What painful struggles of thy dying crew!
Thy perish'd hopes all bury'd in th' flood,
O'erspread with corses! red with human blood!
So pierc'd with anguish hoary Priam gaz'd,
When Troy's imperial domes in ruin blaz'd.
While he, severest sorrow doom'd to feel,
Expir'd beneath th' victor's murdering steel.
Thus with his helpless partners till the last,
Sad refuge! Albert hugs the floating mast;
His soul could yet sustain the mortal blow,
But droops, alas! beneath superior woe;
For now soft nature's sympathetic chain
Tugs at his yearning heart with powerful strain;
His faithful wife for ever doom'd to mourn
For him, alas! who never shall return;
To black adversity's approach expos'd,
With want and hardships unforeseen enclos'd;
His lovely daughter left without a friend
Her innocence to succour and defend;
By youth and indigence set forth a prey
To lawless guilt, that flatters to betray.
While these reflections rack his feeling mind,
Rodmond, who hung beside, his grasp resign'd;
And, as the tumbling waters o'er him roll'd,
His out-stretch'd arms the master's legs enfold.
Sad Albert feels the dissolution near,
And strives in vain his fetter'd limbs to clear;
For death bids every clinching joint adhere.
All-faint to Heaven he throws his dying eyes,
And “O protect my wife and child!” he cries;
The gushing streams roll back th' unfinish'd sound!
He gasps! he dies! and tumbles to the ground!
Of Heaven decreed thee to the briny tomb:
What scenes of misery torment thy view!
What painful struggles of thy dying crew!
Thy perish'd hopes all bury'd in th' flood,
O'erspread with corses! red with human blood!
So pierc'd with anguish hoary Priam gaz'd,
When Troy's imperial domes in ruin blaz'd.
While he, severest sorrow doom'd to feel,
Expir'd beneath th' victor's murdering steel.
Thus with his helpless partners till the last,
Sad refuge! Albert hugs the floating mast;
77
But droops, alas! beneath superior woe;
For now soft nature's sympathetic chain
Tugs at his yearning heart with powerful strain;
His faithful wife for ever doom'd to mourn
For him, alas! who never shall return;
To black adversity's approach expos'd,
With want and hardships unforeseen enclos'd;
His lovely daughter left without a friend
Her innocence to succour and defend;
By youth and indigence set forth a prey
To lawless guilt, that flatters to betray.
While these reflections rack his feeling mind,
Rodmond, who hung beside, his grasp resign'd;
And, as the tumbling waters o'er him roll'd,
His out-stretch'd arms the master's legs enfold.
Sad Albert feels the dissolution near,
And strives in vain his fetter'd limbs to clear;
For death bids every clinching joint adhere.
All-faint to Heaven he throws his dying eyes,
And “O protect my wife and child!” he cries;
The gushing streams roll back th' unfinish'd sound!
He gasps! he dies! and tumbles to the ground!
Five only left of all the perish'd throng,
Yet ride the pine which shoreward drives along;
With these Arion still his hold secures,
And all th' assaults of hostile waves endures.
O'er the dire prospect as for life he strives,
He looks if poor Palemon yet survives.
Ah wherefore, trusting to unequal art,
Didst thou, incautious! from the wreck depart?
Alas! these rocks all human skill defy,
Who strikes them once beyond relief must die:
And now, sore wounded, thou perhaps art tost
On these, or in some oozy cavern lost.
Thus thought Arion, anxious gazing round
In vain, his eyes no more Palemon found.
The demons of destruction hover nigh,
And thick their mortal shafts commission'd fly.
And now a breaking surge, with forceful sway,
Two next Arion furious tears away.
Hurl'd on the crags, behold, they gasp! they bleed!
And, groaning, cling upon th' elusive weed!
Another billow bursts in boundless roar!
Arion sinks! and Memory views no more!
Yet ride the pine which shoreward drives along;
With these Arion still his hold secures,
And all th' assaults of hostile waves endures.
O'er the dire prospect as for life he strives,
He looks if poor Palemon yet survives.
Ah wherefore, trusting to unequal art,
Didst thou, incautious! from the wreck depart?
Alas! these rocks all human skill defy,
Who strikes them once beyond relief must die:
And now, sore wounded, thou perhaps art tost
On these, or in some oozy cavern lost.
Thus thought Arion, anxious gazing round
In vain, his eyes no more Palemon found.
The demons of destruction hover nigh,
And thick their mortal shafts commission'd fly.
78
Two next Arion furious tears away.
Hurl'd on the crags, behold, they gasp! they bleed!
And, groaning, cling upon th' elusive weed!
Another billow bursts in boundless roar!
Arion sinks! and Memory views no more!
Ha! total night and horror here preside!
My stunn'd ear tingles to the whizzing tide!
It is the funeral knell! and, gliding near,
Methinks the phantoms of the dead appear!
My stunn'd ear tingles to the whizzing tide!
It is the funeral knell! and, gliding near,
Methinks the phantoms of the dead appear!
But lo! emerging from the watery grave,
Again they float incumbent on the wave!
Again the dismal prospect opens round,
The wreck, the shores, the dying, and the drown'd!
And see! enfeebled by repeated shocks,
Those two who scramble on th' adjacent rocks,
Their faithless hold no longer can retain,
They sink o'erwhelm'd, and never rise again!
Again they float incumbent on the wave!
Again the dismal prospect opens round,
The wreck, the shores, the dying, and the drown'd!
And see! enfeebled by repeated shocks,
Those two who scramble on th' adjacent rocks,
Their faithless hold no longer can retain,
They sink o'erwhelm'd, and never rise again!
Two with Arion yet the mast upbore,
That now above the ridges reach'd the shore:
Still trembling to descend, they downward gaze,
With horror pale, and torpid with amaze:
The floods recoil! the ground appears below!
And life's faint embers now rekindling glow:
Awhile they wait th' exhausted wave's retreat,
Then climb slow up the beach with hands and feet.
O Heaven! deliver'd by whose sovereign hand,
Still on the brink of hell they shuddering stand,
Receive the languid incense they bestow,
That damp with death appears not yet to glow.
To thee each soul the warm oblation pays,
With trembling ardour, of unequal praise;
In every heart dismay with wonder strives,
And Hope the sicken'd spark of life revives:
Her magic powers their exil'd health restore,
Till horror and despair are felt no more.
That now above the ridges reach'd the shore:
Still trembling to descend, they downward gaze,
With horror pale, and torpid with amaze:
The floods recoil! the ground appears below!
And life's faint embers now rekindling glow:
Awhile they wait th' exhausted wave's retreat,
Then climb slow up the beach with hands and feet.
O Heaven! deliver'd by whose sovereign hand,
Still on the brink of hell they shuddering stand,
Receive the languid incense they bestow,
That damp with death appears not yet to glow.
To thee each soul the warm oblation pays,
With trembling ardour, of unequal praise;
In every heart dismay with wonder strives,
And Hope the sicken'd spark of life revives:
Her magic powers their exil'd health restore,
Till horror and despair are felt no more.
A troop of Grecians, who inhabit nigh,
And oft these perils of the deep descry,
Rous'd by the blustering tempest of the night,
Anxious had climb'd Colonna's neighbouring height;
When gazing downward on th' adjacent flood,
Full to their view the scene of ruin stood;
The surf with mangled bodies strew'd around,
And those yet breathing on the sea-wash'd ground!
Tho' lost to science and the nobler arts,
Yet Nature's lore inform'd their feeling hearts:
Strait down the vale with hast'ning steps they hy'd,
Th' unhappy sufferers to assist and guide.
And oft these perils of the deep descry,
Rous'd by the blustering tempest of the night,
Anxious had climb'd Colonna's neighbouring height;
79
Full to their view the scene of ruin stood;
The surf with mangled bodies strew'd around,
And those yet breathing on the sea-wash'd ground!
Tho' lost to science and the nobler arts,
Yet Nature's lore inform'd their feeling hearts:
Strait down the vale with hast'ning steps they hy'd,
Th' unhappy sufferers to assist and guide.
Mean while those three escap'd beneath explore
The first advent'rous youth who reach'd the shore;
Panting, with eyes averted from the day,
Prone, helpless, on the tangly beach he lay—
It is Palemon!—Oh! what tumults roll
With hope and terror in Arion's soul!
If yet unhurt he lives again to view
His friend, and this sole remnant of our crew!
With us to travel thro' this foreign zone,
And share the future good or ill unknown.
Arion thus; but ah! sad doom of fate!
That bleeding Memory sorrows to relate,
While yet afloat on some resisting rock,
His ribs were dash'd, and fractur'd with the shock:
Heart-piercing sight! those cheeks so late array'd
In beauty's bloom, are pale with mortal shade!
Distilling blood his lovely breast o'erspread,
And clogg'd the golden tresses of his head!
Nor yet the lungs by this pernicious stroke
Were wounded, or the vocal organs broke.
Down from his neck, with blazing gems array'd,
Thy image, lovely Anna! hung pourtray'd;
Th' unconscious figure, smiling all serene,
Suspended in a golden chain was seen.
Hadst thou, soft maiden! in this hour of woe,
Beheld him writhing from the deadly blow,
What force of art, what language could express
Thine agony! thine exquisite distress?
But thou, alas! art doom'd to weep in vain;
For him thine eyes shall never see again!
With dumb amazement pale, Arion gaz'd,
And cautiously the wounded youth uprais'd:
Palemon then, with cruel pangs opprest,
In faultering accents thus his friend address'd:
The first advent'rous youth who reach'd the shore;
Panting, with eyes averted from the day,
Prone, helpless, on the tangly beach he lay—
It is Palemon!—Oh! what tumults roll
With hope and terror in Arion's soul!
If yet unhurt he lives again to view
His friend, and this sole remnant of our crew!
With us to travel thro' this foreign zone,
And share the future good or ill unknown.
Arion thus; but ah! sad doom of fate!
That bleeding Memory sorrows to relate,
While yet afloat on some resisting rock,
His ribs were dash'd, and fractur'd with the shock:
Heart-piercing sight! those cheeks so late array'd
In beauty's bloom, are pale with mortal shade!
Distilling blood his lovely breast o'erspread,
And clogg'd the golden tresses of his head!
Nor yet the lungs by this pernicious stroke
Were wounded, or the vocal organs broke.
Down from his neck, with blazing gems array'd,
Thy image, lovely Anna! hung pourtray'd;
Th' unconscious figure, smiling all serene,
Suspended in a golden chain was seen.
Hadst thou, soft maiden! in this hour of woe,
Beheld him writhing from the deadly blow,
What force of art, what language could express
Thine agony! thine exquisite distress?
But thou, alas! art doom'd to weep in vain;
For him thine eyes shall never see again!
With dumb amazement pale, Arion gaz'd,
And cautiously the wounded youth uprais'd:
80
In faultering accents thus his friend address'd:
“O rescu'd from destruction late so nigh,
Beneath whose fatal influence doom'd I lie;
Are we then exil'd to this last retreat
Of life, unhappy! thus decreed to meet?
Ah! how unlike what yester-morn enjoy'd,
Enchanting hopes, for ever now destroy'd!
For, wounded far beyond all healing power,
Palemon dies, and this his final hour;
By those fell breakers, where in vain I strove,
At once cut off from fortune, life and love!
Far other scenes must soon present my sight,
That lie deep-buried yet in tenfold night.
Ah! wretched father of a wretched son,
Whom thy paternal prudence has undone!
How will remembrance of this blinded care
Bend down thy head with anguish and despair!
Such dire effects from avarice arise,
That, deaf to nature's voice, and vainly wise,
With force severe endeavours to controul
The noblest passions that inspire the soul.
But O, thou sacred Power! whose law connects
Th' eternal chain of causes and effects,
Let not thy chastening ministers of rage
Afflict with sharp remorse his feeble age!
And you, Arion! who with these, the last
Of all our crew, survive the Shipwreck past,
Ah! cease to mourn! those friendly tears restrain!
Nor give my dying moments keener pain!
Since Heaven may soon thy wandering steps restore,
When parted hence, to England's distant shore;
Shouldst thou, th' unwilling messenger of fate,
To him the tragic story first relate,
Oh! Friendship's generous ardour then suppress!
Nor hint the fatal cause of my distress:
Nor let each horrid incident sustain
The lengthen'd tale to aggravate his pain.
Ah! then remember well my last request
For her who reigns for ever in my breast;
Yet let him prove a father and a friend,
The helpless maid to succour and defend.
Say, I this suit implor'd with parting breath,
So Heaven befriend him at his hour of death!
But oh! to lovely Anna shouldst thou tell
What dire untimely end thy friend befel,
Draw o'er the dismal scene soft pity's veil,
And lightly touch the lamentable tale;
Say that my love, inviolably true,
No change, no diminution ever knew;
Lo! her bright image, pendent on my neck,
Is all Palemon rescu'd from the wreck;
Take it and say, when panting in the wave,
I struggled, life and this alone to save!
Beneath whose fatal influence doom'd I lie;
Are we then exil'd to this last retreat
Of life, unhappy! thus decreed to meet?
Ah! how unlike what yester-morn enjoy'd,
Enchanting hopes, for ever now destroy'd!
For, wounded far beyond all healing power,
Palemon dies, and this his final hour;
By those fell breakers, where in vain I strove,
At once cut off from fortune, life and love!
Far other scenes must soon present my sight,
That lie deep-buried yet in tenfold night.
Ah! wretched father of a wretched son,
Whom thy paternal prudence has undone!
How will remembrance of this blinded care
Bend down thy head with anguish and despair!
Such dire effects from avarice arise,
That, deaf to nature's voice, and vainly wise,
With force severe endeavours to controul
The noblest passions that inspire the soul.
But O, thou sacred Power! whose law connects
Th' eternal chain of causes and effects,
Let not thy chastening ministers of rage
Afflict with sharp remorse his feeble age!
And you, Arion! who with these, the last
Of all our crew, survive the Shipwreck past,
Ah! cease to mourn! those friendly tears restrain!
Nor give my dying moments keener pain!
Since Heaven may soon thy wandering steps restore,
When parted hence, to England's distant shore;
Shouldst thou, th' unwilling messenger of fate,
To him the tragic story first relate,
Oh! Friendship's generous ardour then suppress!
Nor hint the fatal cause of my distress:
Nor let each horrid incident sustain
The lengthen'd tale to aggravate his pain.
Ah! then remember well my last request
For her who reigns for ever in my breast;
81
The helpless maid to succour and defend.
Say, I this suit implor'd with parting breath,
So Heaven befriend him at his hour of death!
But oh! to lovely Anna shouldst thou tell
What dire untimely end thy friend befel,
Draw o'er the dismal scene soft pity's veil,
And lightly touch the lamentable tale;
Say that my love, inviolably true,
No change, no diminution ever knew;
Lo! her bright image, pendent on my neck,
Is all Palemon rescu'd from the wreck;
Take it and say, when panting in the wave,
I struggled, life and this alone to save!
“My soul, that fluttering hastens to be free,
Would yet a train of thoughts impart to thee,
But strives in vain! the chilling ice of death
Congeals my blood, and choaks the stream of breath:
Resign'd she quits her comfortless abode,
To course that long, unknown, eternal road.
O sacred Source of ever-living light!
Conduct the weary wanderer in her flight!
Direct her onward to that peaceful shore,
Where peril, pain and death are felt no more!
Would yet a train of thoughts impart to thee,
But strives in vain! the chilling ice of death
Congeals my blood, and choaks the stream of breath:
Resign'd she quits her comfortless abode,
To course that long, unknown, eternal road.
O sacred Source of ever-living light!
Conduct the weary wanderer in her flight!
Direct her onward to that peaceful shore,
Where peril, pain and death are felt no more!
“When thou some tale of hapless love shalt hear,
That steals from pity's eye the melting tear,
Of two chaste hearts, by mutual passion join'd,
To absence, sorrow and despair consign'd,
Oh! then, to swell the tides of social woe,
That heal th' afflicted bosom they o'erflow,
While memory dictates, this sad Shipwreck tell,
And what distress thy wretched friend befel!
Then, while in streams of soft compassion drown'd,
The swains lament, and maidens weep around;
While lisping children, touch'd with infant fear,
With wonder gaze, and drop th' unconscious tear:
Oh! then this moral bid their souls retain,
“All thoughts of happiness on earth are vain!”
That steals from pity's eye the melting tear,
Of two chaste hearts, by mutual passion join'd,
To absence, sorrow and despair consign'd,
Oh! then, to swell the tides of social woe,
That heal th' afflicted bosom they o'erflow,
While memory dictates, this sad Shipwreck tell,
And what distress thy wretched friend befel!
Then, while in streams of soft compassion drown'd,
The swains lament, and maidens weep around;
While lisping children, touch'd with infant fear,
With wonder gaze, and drop th' unconscious tear:
Oh! then this moral bid their souls retain,
“All thoughts of happiness on earth are vain!”
The last faint accents trembled on his tongue,
That now inactive to the palate clung;
His bosom heaves a mortal groan—he dies!
And shades eternal sink upon his eyes!
That now inactive to the palate clung;
82
And shades eternal sink upon his eyes!
As thus defac'd in death Palemon lay,
Arion gaz'd upon the lifeless clay;
Transfix'd he stood, with awful terror fill'd,
While down his cheek the silent drops distill'd.
Arion gaz'd upon the lifeless clay;
Transfix'd he stood, with awful terror fill'd,
While down his cheek the silent drops distill'd.
Oh, ill star'd vot'ry of unspotted truth!
Untimely perish'd in the bloom of youth,
Should e'er thy friend arrive on Albion's land,
He will obey, tho' painful, thy demand:
His tongue the dreadful story shall display,
And all the horrors of this dismal day!
Disastrous day! what ruin hast thou bred!
What anguish to the living and the dead!
How hast thou left the widow all forlorn!
And ever doom'd the orphan child to mourn;
Thro' life's sad journey hopeless to complain!
Can sacred justice those events ordain?
But, O my soul! avoid that wond'rous maze,
Where reason, lost in endless error, strays!
As thro' this thorny vale of life we run,
Great Cause of all Effects, “Thy will be done!”
Untimely perish'd in the bloom of youth,
Should e'er thy friend arrive on Albion's land,
He will obey, tho' painful, thy demand:
His tongue the dreadful story shall display,
And all the horrors of this dismal day!
Disastrous day! what ruin hast thou bred!
What anguish to the living and the dead!
How hast thou left the widow all forlorn!
And ever doom'd the orphan child to mourn;
Thro' life's sad journey hopeless to complain!
Can sacred justice those events ordain?
But, O my soul! avoid that wond'rous maze,
Where reason, lost in endless error, strays!
As thro' this thorny vale of life we run,
Great Cause of all Effects, “Thy will be done!”
Now had the Grecians on the beach arriv'd,
To aid the helpless few who yet surviv'd:
While passing they behold the waves o'erspread
With shatter'd rafts and corses of the dead;
Three still alive, benumb'd and faint they find,
In mournful silence on a rock reclin'd.
The generous natives, mov'd with social pain,
The feeble strangers in their arms sustain;
With pitying sighs their hapless lot deplore,
And lead them trembling from the fatal shore.
To aid the helpless few who yet surviv'd:
While passing they behold the waves o'erspread
With shatter'd rafts and corses of the dead;
Three still alive, benumb'd and faint they find,
In mournful silence on a rock reclin'd.
The generous natives, mov'd with social pain,
The feeble strangers in their arms sustain;
With pitying sighs their hapless lot deplore,
And lead them trembling from the fatal shore.
Steady, is the order to steer the ship according to the line on which she advances at that instant, without deviating to the right or left thereof.
Broaching-to, is a sudden and involuntary movement in navigation, wherein a ship, whilst scudding or sailing before the wind, unexpectedly turns her side to windward. It is generally occasioned by the difficulty of steering her, or by some disaster happening to the machinery of the helm. See the last note of the second Canto.
| The Poetical works of Wm. Falconer | |