64

SHIP ON FIRE.

SHIP ON FIRE.

The storm o'er the ocean flew furious and fast,
And the waves rose in foam at the voice of the blast,
And heavily labored the gale-beaten ship,

Like a stout hearted swimmer-the spray at his lip,
And dark was the sky o'er the mariner's path,
Except when the lightning illumined it in wrath,-
A young mother knelt in the cabin below,
And pressing her babe to her bosom of snow,
She prayed to her God 'mid the hurricane wild:
O Father, have mercy, look down on my child!
It passed the fierce whirlwind careered on its way,
And the ship like an arrow divided the spray,

Her sails glimmered white in the beams of the moon,
And the breeze up aloft seemed to whistle, to whistle a

tune,

And the wind up aloft seemed to whistle, to whistle a tune.

There was joy in the ship as she furrowed the foam,
For, fond hearts within her were dreaming of home:
The young mother pressed her fond babe to her breast,
And sang a sweet song as she rocked it to rest,
And the husband sat cheerily down by her side,
And looked with delight on the face of his bride:
"Oh, happy" said he, ', when our roaming is o'er,
We'll dwell in our cottage that stands by the shore,
Already I fancy its roof I descry.

And the smoke of its hearth curling up to the sky:
Its gardens so green and its vine-covered wall,
The kind friends awaiting to welcome us all,

And the children that sport by the old oaken tree."
Ah gently the ship glided over the sea.

Hark! what was that? Hark, bark to the shout-
Fire! then a tramp and a rout.

And an uproar of voices arose in the air,

And the mother knelt down and the half spoken prayer That she offered to God in her agony wild

NADOWESSIAN DEATH-LAMENT.

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65

Was "Father, have mercy, look down, look down on my child!"

She flew to her huband, she clung to his side

Oh, there was her refuge, what e're might betide.
Fire! Fire! it was raging above and below.

And the cheeks of the sailors grew pale at the sight,
And their eyes glistened 'wild in the glare of the light.
'Twas vain o'er the ravage the waters to drip,
The pitiless flame was the lord of the ship,

And the smoke, in thick wreaths mounted higher and higher.

O God! it is fearful to perish by fire!

Alone with destruction, alone on the sea,
Great Father of mercy, our hope is in thee!

Sad at heart and resigned, yet undaunted and brave,
They lowered the boat, a mere speck on the wave:
First entered the mother enfolding her child,

It knew she caressed it, looked upwards and smiled.
Cold, cold was the night, as they drfted away,
And mistily dawned o'er the pathway the day,
And they prayed for the light: and at noontide about,
The sun o'er the waters shone joyously out.

Ho! a sail! Ho! a sail! cried the man on the lee,
Ho! a sail! and they turned their glad eyes o'er the

sea.

They see us they see us, the signal is waved,

They bear down upon us, they bear down upon us,
They bear down upon us the signal is waved,
Thank God, thank God! we're saved!

NADOWESSIAN DEATH-LAMENT.

See, he sitteth on his mat,
Sitteth there upright,

With the grace with which he sat
While he saw the light.

Happy he! He now has gone
Where no snow is found:
Where with maize the fields are sown,
Self-sprung from the ground;

Where with birds each bush is fill'd,
Where with game the wood;
Where the fish, with joy instill'd,
Wanton in the flood.

With the spirits blest he feeds,—
Leaves us here in gloom;
We can only praise his deeds,
And his corpse entomb.

Farewell-gifts, then, hither bring,

Sound the death-note sad!

Bury with him ev'rything

That can make him glad.

As one that finds a stepping-stone across a running stream,

I, turning pages idly o'er-half in a waking dreamChance on two words and pause, and linger there and let

My thoughts and lips repeat them oft. Just these: "Forgive, forget."

There is a battle-field, once red with slaughter and with blood,

Where countless heroes grandly fell, and conqu'ring tyrants trod:

Yet harvests ripen there to-day and sweet wild flowers

bloom

Upon the very ground where once those brave men found a tomb.

But battles have been fought since then, and vict'ries

have been won,

And noble deeds, unknown to fame, have there been nobly done.

68

THE BATTLE OF LIFE.

For loving human hearts have fought, and struggled well and long,

For what is good and true and right against the false and wrong.

Two sisters with their father dwelt upon that battle plain

In peacefullness and sweet content, and knew nor grief nor pain;

And as their pleasant lives flowed on those sisters ever strove

Which should excel in tender acts of gentleness and love.

But soon a lover came to woo the younger for his

bride,

And ah! she loved him tenderly--yet was not satis

fied

For in her sister's gentle eyes she read a secret there That told of love as deep as hers, yet doomed to sad despair;

And then her great perplexity no words can ever tell: How could she know how best to serve the two she loved so well?

And so upon her birthday night, when all seemed glad and gay,

She looked her last upon them all, and wildly fled

away

Far, far away to shelt'ring friends, where none could

ever trace

Through long and sad suspense of years her blameless hiding place,

But bitter things were thought of her, and bitter things were said,

And e'en her sorrowing sister could but think of her as dead.

And then at length it came about, as she had then fore

seen,