 | The Triangular Society |  |
93
THE LAST VOYAGE.
The midnight skies of autumn were brilliant overhead,
As up the gleaming Hudson the laden vessel sped;
The while with eye unsleeping, and nerves as strong as steel,
The brave and faithful pilot kept vigil at the wheel.
As up the gleaming Hudson the laden vessel sped;
The while with eye unsleeping, and nerves as strong as steel,
The brave and faithful pilot kept vigil at the wheel.
His home had been the river,—he loved its ceaseless roar;
He knew each mile of channel, each winding curve of shore;
Had dared its rocks and shallows, and laughed at landsmen's fears
In every wind and weather, for five-and-twenty years.
He knew each mile of channel, each winding curve of shore;
Had dared its rocks and shallows, and laughed at landsmen's fears
In every wind and weather, for five-and-twenty years.
No vapor hid the pole-star, no tempest crossed the night,
No mist-wreath veiled the waters, no haze obscured the sight,
But on the quiet midnight the bell's alarming note
Rang out with sudden clangor, the warning “Slow the boat!”
No mist-wreath veiled the waters, no haze obscured the sight,
But on the quiet midnight the bell's alarming note
Rang out with sudden clangor, the warning “Slow the boat!”
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Up sprang the second pilot, with wonder in his eyes;
“What ho! where is the danger?” he asked in dazed surprise.
“The sky is clear above us, the water deep below;
What hidden peril threatens, or wherefore signal so?”
“What ho! where is the danger?” he asked in dazed surprise.
“The sky is clear above us, the water deep below;
What hidden peril threatens, or wherefore signal so?”
The boat slid through the water with smooth and even keel,
With grasp unmoved and steady, the old man held the wheel,
Nor ever paused or faltered, but raised his eyes to say
“A heavy fog has fallen—I cannot see the way!”
With grasp unmoved and steady, the old man held the wheel,
Nor ever paused or faltered, but raised his eyes to say
“A heavy fog has fallen—I cannot see the way!”
“No! look! the night is cloudless, the way is straight and clear;
Yonder 's the light at Rhinebeck, and Rondout lies off here.”
Still unconvinced, he whispered, his voice grown faint and hoarse,
“The fog is thick and heavy, and we have lost our course!”
Yonder 's the light at Rhinebeck, and Rondout lies off here.”
Still unconvinced, he whispered, his voice grown faint and hoarse,
“The fog is thick and heavy, and we have lost our course!”
Awed suddenly to silence, the other took his place;
He marked the deathly pallor that touched the old man's face.
The pilot's work was ended; it was his time to go
Upon that mystic voyage whose port we may not know.
He marked the deathly pallor that touched the old man's face.
The pilot's work was ended; it was his time to go
Upon that mystic voyage whose port we may not know.
His years of patient labor and watchful care were past;
A true and faithful servant, and loyal to the last,
He felt across his vision death's icy dimness steal,
His eye upon the beacon, his hand upon the wheel.
A true and faithful servant, and loyal to the last,
He felt across his vision death's icy dimness steal,
His eye upon the beacon, his hand upon the wheel.
Surely some waiting angel, who counts as victories won
Long years of earnest labor and duties nobly done,
Some just and gentle angel, with forehead like the day,
Helped his bewildered spirit to find the shining way!
Long years of earnest labor and duties nobly done,
Some just and gentle angel, with forehead like the day,
Helped his bewildered spirit to find the shining way!
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