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So hour by hour did the tumult grow:
The petty marauders ran to and fro,
And, nerved by submission ill-advised,
The half of the party terrorized.
They robbed the train-boy—plaintive to tell—
Of little nothings he had to sell;
They gambled openly as they chose,
'Gainst rules card-larceny to oppose;
They thrust attentions on woman and man,
Until free fighting well nigh began;
And fists were doubled that long had been
Unused in the gentle arts that win.
The petty marauders ran to and fro,
And, nerved by submission ill-advised,
The half of the party terrorized.
They robbed the train-boy—plaintive to tell—
Of little nothings he had to sell;
They gambled openly as they chose,
'Gainst rules card-larceny to oppose;
They thrust attentions on woman and man,
Until free fighting well nigh began;
And fists were doubled that long had been
Unused in the gentle arts that win.
Confusion was king!—but now appeared
A leader that could be loved, and feared
(And that is the only kind, indeed,
That really very long can lead),
One who had listened and spoke no word,
Through all the clamor: but now was heard
So clearly, there came a sudden hush,
To mind his sayings—and then a rush
From other coaches to this:—he stood
As one in gentle-defiant mood,
And spoke, in a voice with velvet sheath
Enclosing claws that were just beneath.
A leader that could be loved, and feared
(And that is the only kind, indeed,
That really very long can lead),
One who had listened and spoke no word,
Through all the clamor: but now was heard
So clearly, there came a sudden hush,
To mind his sayings—and then a rush
From other coaches to this:—he stood
As one in gentle-defiant mood,
And spoke, in a voice with velvet sheath
Enclosing claws that were just beneath.
An old sea-captain wrinkled and gray;
A ruler of ships: who in his day
Had sped o'er ocean and lake and stream,
And foaming gulf; and had heard the scream
Of many a storm, and had answer made
With all the defiances of his trade;
And thwarted the efforts of those sprites
Of fearful days and fearfuller nights,
When storms are abroad in savage gloom,
And say to mortals, “We need the room!
Go down in the ocean's depths to stay,
And rest forever with kindred clay!”
A ruler of ships: who in his day
49
And foaming gulf; and had heard the scream
Of many a storm, and had answer made
With all the defiances of his trade;
And thwarted the efforts of those sprites
Of fearful days and fearfuller nights,
When storms are abroad in savage gloom,
And say to mortals, “We need the room!
Go down in the ocean's depths to stay,
And rest forever with kindred clay!”
This Captain had fought 'gainst many a gale,
With strong propeller and facile sail,
Knew half the world, as he would a town,
In which he had journeyed up and down;
He knew the science how not to bind
A wreck of matter, to wreck of mind.
So different from the rest was he,
Of those who were in that company,
He held them not “with his glittering eye”,
But his whole body and soul stood by,
And floated each word o'er that abysm,
With cleanly resolute magnetism.
And as he stood there, modestly bold,
This tale to the listening throng he told:
With strong propeller and facile sail,
Knew half the world, as he would a town,
In which he had journeyed up and down;
He knew the science how not to bind
A wreck of matter, to wreck of mind.
So different from the rest was he,
Of those who were in that company,
He held them not “with his glittering eye”,
But his whole body and soul stood by,
And floated each word o'er that abysm,
With cleanly resolute magnetism.
And as he stood there, modestly bold,
This tale to the listening throng he told:
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