The Downing legends : Stories in Rhyme The witch of Shiloh, the last of the Wampanoags, the gentle earl, the enchanted voyage |
 |
| 1. |
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
| 5. |
| 6. |
| 7. |
| 8. |
| 9. |
| 10. |
| 11. |
| 12. |
| 13. |
| 14. |
| 15. |
| 16. |
| 17. |
| 18. |
| 19. |
| 20. |
| 21. |
| 22. |
| 23. |
| 24. |
| 25. |
| 26. |
| 27. |
| 28. |
| 29. |
| 30. |
| 31. |
| 32. |
| 33. |
| 34. |
| 35. |
| 36. |
| 37. |
| 38. |
| 39. |
| 40. |
| 41. |
| 42. |
| 43. |
| 44. |
| 45. |
| 2. |
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
| 5. |
| 6. |
| 7. |
| 8. |
| 9. |
| 10. |
| 11. |
| 12. |
| 13. |
| 14. |
| 15. |
| 16. |
| 17. |
| 18. |
| 19. |
| 20. |
| 21. |
| 22. |
| 23. |
| 24. |
| 25. |
| 26. |
| 27. |
| 28. |
| 29. |
| 30. |
| 31. |
| 32. |
| 33. |
| 34. |
| 35. |
| 36. |
| 37. |
| 38. |
| 39. |
| 40. |
| 41. |
| 42. |
| 43. |
| 44. |
| 45. |
| 46. |
| 47. |
| 48. |
| 49. |
| 50. |
| 51. |
| 52. |
| 53. |
| 54. |
| 55. |
| 3. |
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
| 5. |
| 6. |
| 7. |
| 8. |
| 9. |
| 10. |
| 11. |
| 12. |
| 13. |
| 14. |
| 15. |
| 16. |
| 17. |
| 18. |
| 19. |
| 20. |
| 21. |
| 22. |
| 23. |
| 24. |
| 25. |
| 26. |
| 27. |
| 28. |
| 29. |
| 30. |
| 31. |
| 4. |
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
| 5. |
| 6. |
| 7. |
| 8. |
| 9. |
| 10. |
| 11. |
| 12. |
| 13. |
| 14. |
| 15. |
| 16. |
| 17. |
| 18. |
| 19. |
| 20. |
| 21. |
| 22. |
| 23. |
| 24. |
| 25. |
| 26. |
| 27. |
| 28. |
| 29. |
| 30. |
| 31. |
| 32. |
| 33. |
| 34. |
| 35. |
| 36. |
| 37. |
| 38. | XXXVIII |
| 39. |
| 40. |
| 41. |
| 42. |
| 43. |
 | The Downing legends : Stories in Rhyme |  |
200
XXXVIII
The morning came, the last of moil
For those who sought their natal soil;
And, through the filmy wraiths that drave
In shoals from steely wave to wave,
They sighted Holland's seaward bounds,
Her endless dikes, her misty sounds;
And stealing on from shape to shape,
By yawning bight and crawling cape,
Anon they plainly spied afar
A tangled wood of mast and spar,
Displaying flags of all mankind,
With roofs in thousands ranked behind.
While here and yonder lofty spires
Uplifted psalms from brazen lyres,
Carilloning o'er earth and sea
That queenly city's jubilee.
For those who sought their natal soil;
And, through the filmy wraiths that drave
In shoals from steely wave to wave,
They sighted Holland's seaward bounds,
Her endless dikes, her misty sounds;
And stealing on from shape to shape,
By yawning bight and crawling cape,
Anon they plainly spied afar
A tangled wood of mast and spar,
Displaying flags of all mankind,
With roofs in thousands ranked behind.
While here and yonder lofty spires
Uplifted psalms from brazen lyres,
Carilloning o'er earth and sea
That queenly city's jubilee.
And this was Amsterdam. Her sails
Were all around them. Marvelling hails
Pursued and met these otherworld
Vikings veering with canvas furled
And flaunting flags of ages gone.
They answered not; they speeded on,
All landward gazing; every eye
Intent with yearning hope to spy
A shape familiar to its gaze,—
A ghost, at least, of other days;
Intent perchance to find a spot
Where lasting quiet might be got,
The peace that man nor cyclone stirs
The restful peace of sepulchres.
Were all around them. Marvelling hails
Pursued and met these otherworld
Vikings veering with canvas furled
And flaunting flags of ages gone.
They answered not; they speeded on,
All landward gazing; every eye
Intent with yearning hope to spy
A shape familiar to its gaze,—
A ghost, at least, of other days;
Intent perchance to find a spot
Where lasting quiet might be got,
The peace that man nor cyclone stirs
The restful peace of sepulchres.
| The Downing legends : Stories in Rhyme | |