 | A collection of poems on various subjects |  |
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THE STORM,
A DRAMATIC FRAGMENT.
THE COAST OF SICILY.A Hut by the Sea-side—a Fisherman and a Boy.
FISHERMAN.
Here's a black sky! I knew this sultry noon
Foreboded something.
Boy.
Master, 'tis a storm—
Fisherman.
It thunders yonder; 'twill be here anon—
See, and get in the boat! Haul away, boy!
Boy.
There was a flash!
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Ay, it comes on apace,
And blackens more and more: 't was still as death—
Now, how it blows, as if 't would tear to tatters;
And bawls at us!
Boy.
In! in! good father.
Fisherman.
Hold!
Look there!
Boy.
A ship driving before the wind!
[Boy goes out.
Fisherman.
So!—Mercy on their souls!
Old Woman,
from the Hut.
What Hoa! Josepho!—
Come in, old man! why will you keep abroad
This stormy weather?
Fisherman.
Get thee in, good dame,
And shut the door upon the tempest!—Marco!
Holla! boy, holla! Go not near the surf!
Keep up the beach!
Boy,
running in.
See, father, see! the ship
Has sprung her mast!
Old Woman.
Josepho!
Boy.
See she drifts
Upon the reef—
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louder.
Josepho!
Fisherman.
Nought can save her!
She is a wreck!
Old Woman,
louder still.
Josepho!
Fisherman.
Hoa! I hear thee—
Old Woman.
How long am I to bawl and bawl to you?
Come in, old man! How can you keep me here,
And see the tempest beating in my face?
Come in, Josepho!
Fisherman.
Shut the door, I say!
There is a wreck driving upon the shore,
And hap'ly I may save some honest soul.
Get in—get in—and find my flask and hook,
And give them to the boy.
Old Woman.
Ay! ay! the boy;
And let thy crazy bones fare as they may:
Well! well! Old man, I'll get thy flask and hook—
Ugh! what a day!
[Goes into the hut.
Fisherman.
What cry was that?
Boy.
The ship
Has struck. This way, good father—this way.—
[Exeunt.
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Old Woman and Girl.
Old Wom.
Look to thy work—mind not the storm for me,
'Tis they will soak—Hear'st thou?—It will pelt in
The roof upon us—Mercy! what a peal
Was there!
Girl.
Give me the flask. [Goes to the door.]
See, how it lightens!
Old Woman.
They are abroad in it, good Jaqueline.
Girl,
calling from the door.
Josepho!—Marco!—Hoa!—they cannot hear,
The tempest is so loud.
Old Woman.
Prithee look out.
Girl.
I cannot see them.
Old Woman.
Art afraid to pass
The threshold, girl?
Girl.
See, good mother, see—
'Tis all a cloud of spray.
Old Woman.
Call out again.
Girl.
Josepho!—Marco!—Marco!
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They are gone
Among the rocks: I fear me, Jaqueline,
'Twill be a woeful day!
Cavalier,
without.
Hoa! holla! hoa!
Old Woman.
Hark, Jaqueline!
Girl.
It is not they.
Cavalier.
Holla!
Shelter, good people, shelter!
Girl.
'Tis a horseman.
Old Woman.
Bid him alight—would 'twere Josepho!
Girl.
Mother, it is a noble party.
Old Woman.
'Tend to them—
Would 'twere Josepho!
Lady,
entering with Cavaliers.
Thanks, good people, thanks—
Your shelter is most timely; we would fain,
With your good leave and pleasure, profit by it,
Until the storm is past.
Old Woman.
Ay! 'tis a storm!
Why, Jaqueline, bestir thee, girl; a fire!
Hurry, I say!—would my old man were come!
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Nay, pray you—
Cavalier.
Dame, we may not.
Old Woman.
Nay—
Cavalier.
You see,
In yonder lady, the king's daughter.
Old Woman.
How?
What say you? the king's daughter!
Fisherman,
without.
Holla! hoa!
Open the door!
Old Woman.
Thank Heav'n! it is Josepho. [Fisherman brings in a Stranger in his arms.
What have you there?
Fisherman.
A mariner, good wife,
Sav'd from the wreck.
Lady.
Poor luckless mariner!
What! is he dead?
Fisherman.
I hope not, lady;—dame,
Your cordial—quick! he faints for loss of strength;
For as I watch'd the wreck, I saw him stand
Upon the prow. His hands towards Heav'n he spread;
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Into the sea, all roaring as it was,
And white again with foam. Awhile I saw
No more; at length, now borne aloft, now dash'd
Below, he seem'd to gain the beach.—Your cheek,
Sweet lady, as I tell of it, is pale;
And yet, unless yourself were in my place,
You could not think the horror that I felt,
To see the drowning man just in my reach,
And yet without my aid! At last his strength
Seem'd gone, and, with a faint essay, his hands
He rais'd—then sunk—breathless I watch'd the wave,—
It threw him at my feet!
Lady.
Merciful pow'rs!
Old Woman.
See, he revives!
Lady.
He lifts his eyes to Heav'n,
And moves his lips, but cannot speak.
Fisherman.
'Twould seem,
The ship that has been stranded, is a pirate,
For this appears to be a Christian slave.
Lady.
Such a one truly shou'd have known hard bondage.
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That look'd so wofully;—despair, methinks,
Cannot resemble more itself than him.
Fisherman.
Speak, friend; art better?
Stranger.
Do I owe my life
To you?
Fisherman.
To Heav'n.
Stranger.
O, yes! to Heav'n and you:
Tell me, my friend, am I in Sicily?
Fisherman.
You are—He faints again!
Lady.
Whene'er he speaks,
There is a something in the sound which chills
My heart's blood!—Has it not abated yet?
Let us begone.
Stranger.
How far is Syracuse?
Fisherman.
A league from hence.
Stranger.
Now tell me, briefly, lives
The daughter of the king?
Old Woman.
Alas, he raves!
Fisherman.
Peace, dame! She lives.—
Lady,
to Cavalier.
Hear you?
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In Syracuse?
Fisherman.
In Syracuse.
Cavalier.
Stranger, why ask you this?
Stranger.
I'll answer you. Have you not heard of one
Who lov'd the royal maid? Alphonso was
His name.
Cavalier.
What! he, the pride of Syracuse?
Stranger.
Whom such they call'd.
Cavalier.
I knew him well. Alas!
A rival prince, in furious combat, slew
The goodly youth.
Stranger.
'Twas false! That rival base,
With vaunt of prowess, did excite Alphonso
To secret combat: at the spot agreed
They meet: but how? Alphonso singly came;
His rival with a hired ruffian troop—
Alphonso was betray'd to slavery.
Lady.
What do I hear?
Stranger.
Alphonso now is free.
He lives and tells you so. Now, answer me,
Is not the princess wedded to that slave?
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Alphonso!
Stranger.
Ah! that voice!—
Lady.
Alphonso!
Stranger.
Yes,
It is my love!
Lady.
It is!—it is, Alphonso!
And do you pause? It is your true love still,
And still would be, tho' you were in the grave.
Look on these weeds, they were, my love, for you,
To-morrow they shall change, but not my love;
Alphonso, I am thine!
| A collection of poems on various subjects | |