Hope lifts his heart, before whose vivid ray
Distress recedes, and danger melts away.
Already Britain's parent cliffs arise,
And in idea greet his longing eyes!

Each amorous sailor too, with heart elate,
Dwells on the beauties of his gentle mate
E'en they th' impressive dart of Love can feel,
Whose stubborn souls are sheathed in triple steel
Nor less o'erjoy'd, perhaps with equal truth,
Each faithful maid expects th' approaching youth.
In distant bosoms equal ardours glow;
And mutual passions mutual joy bestow.-
Tall Ida's summit now more distant grew,
And Jove's high hill was rising on the view;
When, from the left approaching, they descry
A liquid column, towering, shoot on high:
The foaming base an angry whirlwind sweeps,
Where curling billows rouse the fearful deeps:
Still round and round the fluid vortex flies,
Scattering dun night and horror through the skies.

The swift volution and th' enormous train
Let sages versed in Nature's lore explain!
The horrid apparition still draws nigh,
And white with foam the whirling surges fly,
The guns were primed-the vessel northward

veers,

Till her black battery on the column bears.
The nitre fired; and while the dreadful sound,
Convulsive, shook the slumbering air around.
The watery volume, trembling to the sky,
Burst down the dreadful deluge from on high;
Th' affrighted surge, recoiling as it fell,
Rolling in hills disclosed th' abyss of hell.
But soon this transient undulation o'er,
The sea subsides, the whirlwinds rage no more.
While south ward now th' increasing breezes

veer,

Dark clouds incumbent on their wings appear.
In front they view the consecrated grove
Of Cypress, sacred once to Cretan Jove.
The thirsty canvass, all around supplied,
Still drinks unquench'd the full aërial tide;
And now, approaching near the lofty stern,
A shoal of sportive dolphins they discern.
From burnish'd scales they beam'd refulgent rays,
Till all the glowing ocean seems to blaze.
Soon to the sport of death the crew repair,
Dart the long lance, or spread the baited snare.
One in redoubling mazes wheels along,
And glides, unhappy! near the triple prong.
Rodmond, unerring, o'er his head suspends
The barbed steel, and every turn attends.
Unerring aim'd the missile weapon flew,
And, plunging, struck the fated victim through.
Th' upturning points his ponderous bulk sustain;
On deck he struggles with convulsive pain.
But while his heart the fatal javelin thrills
And flitting life escapes in sanguine rills,
What radiant changes strike th' astonished sight!
What glowing hues of mingled shade and light!
Nor equal beauties gild the lucid west,
With parting beams all o'er profusely drest;
Not lovelier colours paint the vernal dawn,
When orient dews inpearl th' enamell'd lawn,
Than from his sides in bright suffusion flow,
That now with gold empyreal seem'd to glow;
Now in pellucid sapphires meet the view,
And emulate the soft celestial hue;

Now beam a flaming crimson on the eye;
And now assume the purple's deeper dye.
But here description clouds each shining ray-
What terms of Art can Nature's powers display?
Now, while on high the freshening gale zne feels
The ship beneath her lofty pressure reels
Th' auxiliar sails that court a gentle breeze,
From their high stations sink by slow degrees.
The watchful ruler of the helm no more
With fix'd attention eyes th adjacent shore;
But by the oracle of truth below,

The wondrous magnet, guides the wayward prow-
The wind. that still th' impressive canvass swell'a
Swift and more swift the yielding bark impell'd.
Impatient thus she glides along the coast,
Till, far behind, the hill of Jove is lost:
And while aloof from Retimo she steers,
Malacha's foreland full in front appears.
Wide o'er yon isthmus stands the cypress grove
That once enclosed the hallow'd fane of Jove.
Here too, memorial of his name! is found
A tomb, in marble ruins on the ground.
This gloomy tyrant, whose triumphant yoke
The trembling states around to slavery broke;
Through Greece, for murder, rape, and incest known,
The muses raised to high Olympus throne.---
For oft, alas! their venal strains adorn
The prince whom blushing Virtue holds in scorn.
Still Rome and Greece record his endless fame,
And hence yon mountain yet retains his name.

But see! in confluence borne before the blast,
Clouds roll'd on clouds the dusky noon p'ercast;
The blackening ocean curls; the winds arise;
And the dark scud* in swift succession flies.
While the swoln canvass bends the masts on high
Low in the wave the leeward cannon lie,†
The sailors now, to give the ship relief,
Reduce the topsails by a single reef.
Each lofty yard with slacken'd cordage reels.
Rattle the creaking blocks and ringing wheels.
Down the tall masts the topsails sink amain;
And, soon reduced, assume their post again.
More distant grew receding Candia's shore;
And southward of the west Cape Spado bore.

Four hours the sun his high meridian throne
Had left, and o'er Atlantic regions shone :
Still blacker clouds, that all the skies invade,
Draw o'er his sullied orb a dismal shade.

A squall deep lowering blots the southern sky,
Before whose boisterous breath the waters fly.
Its weight the topsails can no more sustain:
'Reef topsails, reef!' the boatswain calls again!

• Scud is a name given by seamen to the lowest clouds, which are driven with great rapidity along the atmo sphere, in squally or tempestuous weather.

When the wind crosses a ship's course, either directly or obliquely, that side of the ship upon which it acts, is called the weather side: and the opposite one, which is then pressed downwards, is called the lee side. Hence all the rigging and furniture of the ship are, at this time, distinguished by the side, on which they are situated; as the lee cannon, the lee braces, the weather braces, &c.

The topsails are large square sails, of the second degree in height and magnitude. Reefs are certain divisions or spaces by which the principal sails are reduced when the wind increases; and again enlarged proportionably, when its force abates.

By spilling-lines* embraced, with brails confined
It lies at length unshaken by the wind.
The foresail then secured with equal care,
Again to reef the mainsail they repair.-
While some, high-mounted, overhaul the tye,
Below the down-haul tacklet others ply.
Jears, lifts, and brails, a seaman each attends,
Along the mast the willing yard descends.
When lower'd sufficient, they securely brace,
And fix'd the rolling-tackle in its place;
The reef-liness and their earings now prepared,
Mounting on pliant shrouds, they man the yard.
Far on th' extremes two able hands appear,
Arion there, the hardy boatswain here;
That in the van to front the tempest hung;
This round the lee yard-arm, ill-omen'd! clung.
Each earing to its station first they bend;
The reef-band¶ then along the yard extend:
The circling earings, round th' extremes entwined,
By outer and by inner turns** they bind.
From hand to hand the reef-lines next received,
Through eye-let holes and roebin legs were reeved.
The reef in double folds involved they lay;
Strain the firm cord, and either end belay.

Hadst thou, Arion! held the leeward post,
While on the yard by mountain billows tost,
Perhaps oblivion o'er our tragic tale

Had then for ever drawn her dusky veil.-
But ruling heaven prolong'd thy vital date,
Severer ills to suffer and relate!

For, while their orders those aloft attend,
To furl the mainsail, or on deck descend,
A seatt up surging with tremendous roll,
To instant ruin seems to doom the whole.
"O friends! secure your hold!" Arion cries;
It comes all dreadful, stooping from the skies;

The spilling-lines, which are only used on particular occasions in tempestuous weather, are employed to draw together and confine the belly of the sail, when it is inflated by the wind over the yard.

The violence of the wind forces the yard so much outward from the inast on these occasions, that it cannot

easily be lowered so as to reef the sail, without the ap plication of a tackle to haul it down on the mast. This is afterwards converted into rolling tackle. See note, 1st col. p. 20.

Jears are the same to the mainsail, foresail, and mizen, as the haliards (note, 1st col. p. 19) are to all inferior sails. The tye is the upper part of the jears.

Reef-lines are only used to reef the mainsail and foresail. They are past in spiral turns through the eyelet holes of the reef, and over the head of the sails between the rope-band legs, till they reach the extremities of the reef, to which they are firmly extended, so as to lace the reef close up to the yard.

I Shrouds are thick ropes, stretching from the mast. heads downwards to the outside of the ship, serving to support the masts. They are also used as a range of tope-ladders, by which the seamen ascend or descend, to perform whatever is necessary about the sails and rigging.

The reef-band is a long piece of canvass sewed across the sail, to strengthen the canvass in the place where the eye let holes of the reef are formed.

"The outer turns of the earing serve to extend the sail along the yard; and the inner turns are employed to confine its head-rope close to its surface. See note 1, 2d col. p. 19.

A sea is the general name given by sailors to a single wave or billow: hence, when a wave bursts over the deck, the vessel is said to have shipped a sea.

Uplifted on its horrid edge she feels

The shock, and on her side half-buried reels:
The sail half bury'd in the whelming wave,
A fearful warning to the seamen gave:
While from its margin, terrible to tell!
Three sailors, with their gallant boatswain, fell.
Torn with resistless fury from their hold,
In vain their struggling arms the yard infold.
In vain to grapple flying cords they try,
The cords, alas! a solid gripe deny!
Prone on the midnight surge, with panting breath
They cry for aid, and long contend with Death.
High o'er their heads the rolling billows sweep,
And down they sink in everlasting sleep.
Bereft of power to help, their comrades see
The wretched victims die beneath the lee!
With fruitless sorrow their lost state bemoan;
Perhaps a fatal prelude to their own!

In dark suspense on deck the pilots stand,
Nor can determine on the next command
Though still they knew the vessel's armed side
Impenetrable to the clasping tide ;

Though still the waters by no secret wound
A passage to her deep recesses found;
Surrounding evils yet they ponder o'er-
A storm, a dangerous sea, and leeward shore'
Should they, though reef 'd, again their sails extend
Again in fluttering fragments they may rend;
Or should they stand, beneath the dreadful strain,
The down-press'd ship may never rise again;
Too late to weather now Morea's land,
Yet verging fast to Athen's rocky strand.-
Thus they lament the consequence severe,
Where perils unallay'd by hope appear.
Long in their minds revolving each event,
At last to furl the courses they consent;
That done, to reef the mizen next agree,
And try,† beneath it, sidelong in the sea.

Now down the mast the sloping yard declined,
Till by the jears and topping lift confined;
In balance near the lofty peak, they bound.
The head, with doubling canvass fenced around,
The reef enwrapt, th' inserted knittles tied,
To hoist the shorten'd sail again they hied.
The order given, the yard aloft they sway'd;
The brails relax'd, th' extended sheet belay'd:
The helm its post forsook, and lash'd a-lee,§
Inclined the wayward prow to front the sea.

With notes divine implored his consort lost;
When sacred Orpheus, on the Stygian coast,

To weather a shore is to pass to the windward of it, which at this time is prevented by the violence of the storm.

To try, is to lay the ship, with her near side in the direction of the wind and sea, with the head somewhat inclined to the windward; the helm being laid a-lee to retain her in this position. See a farther illustration of this in the last note of this Canto.

The topping lift, which tops the upper part of the mizen-yard, (see note **, p. 20.) This line and the six following describe the operation of reefing and balanc. ing the mizen. The reef of this sail is towards the lower end, the knittles being small short lines used in the room of points for this purpose, (see note 1, 1st col. p. 19, and note, p. 20;) they are accordingly knotted under the foot-rope or lower edge of the sail.

§ Lash'd a-lee is fastened to the lee-side. See note t

p. 18.

Though round him perils grew in fell array,
And fates and furies stood to bar his way;
Not more adventurous was the attempt, to move
The powers of hell with strains of heavenly love,
Than mine, to bid the unwilling Muse explore
The wilderness of rude mechanic lore.
Such toil th' unwearied Daedalus endured,
When in the Cretan labyrinth immured;
Till Art her salutary help bestow'd,

To guide him through that intricate abode.
Thus long entangled in a thorny way,
That never heard the sweet Pierian lay.

They sound the well,* and, terrible to hear!
Five feet immersed along the line appear.
At either pump they ply the clanking brake,
. And turn by turn th' ungrateful office take.
Rodmond, Arion, and Palemon here,
At this sad task, all diligent appear.
As some fair castle, shook by rude alarms,
Opposes long th' approach of hostile arms;
Grim war around her plants his black array,
And death and sorrow mark his horrid way;
Till, in some destined hour, against her wall
In tenfold rage the fatal thunders fall:

string,

Now spreads, like Dedalus, a bolder wing;
The verse begins in softer strains to flow,
Replete with sad variety of wo.

As yet, amid this elemental war,
That scatters desolation from afar,
Nor toil, nor hazard, nor distress appear
To sink the seamen with unmanly fear
Though their firm hearts no pageant honour boast,
They scorn the wretch that trembles in his post;
Who from the face of danger strives to turn,
Indignant from the social hour they spurn.
Though now full oft they felt the raging tide
In proud rebellion climb the vessel's side,
No future ills unknown their souls appal;
They know no danger, or they scorn it all!
But e'en the generous spirits of the brave,
Subdued by toil, a friendly respite crave:
A short repose alone their thoughts implore,
Their harass'd powers by slumber to restore.
Far other cares the master's mind employ ;
Approaching perils all his hopes destroy.
In vain he spreads the graduated chart,
And bounds the distance by the rules of art;
In vain athwart the mimic seas expands
The compasses to circumjacent lands.
Ungrateful task! for no asylum traced
A passage open'd from the watery waste :
Fate seem'd to guard, with adamantine mound,
The path to every friendly port around.
While Albert thus, with secret doubts dismay'd,
The geometric distances survey'd,

On deck the watchful Rodmond cries aloud,

Secure your lives! grasp every man a shroud !"— Roused from his trance, he mounts with eyes aghast ;

When o er the ship, in undulation vast,
A giant surge down rushes from on nigh,
And fore and aft dissever'd ruins lie.-
As when, Britannia's empire to maintain,
Great Hawke descends in thunder on the main,
Around the brazen voice of battle roars,
And fatal lightnings blast the hostile shores;
Beneath the storm their shatter'd navies groan,
The trembling deep recoils from zone to zone :
Thus the torn vessel felt th' enormous stroke:
The boats beneath the thundering deluge broke,
Forth started from their planks the bursting rings,
Th' extended cordage all asunder springs ;
The pilot's fair machinery strews the deck,
And cards and needles swim in floating wreck.
The balanced mizen, rending to the head,
In streaming ruins from the margin fled,
The sides convulsive shook on groaning beams,
And, rent with labour, yawn'd the pitchy seams;

And hostile troops the shatter'd breach ascend.
Her valiant inmates still the foe retard,
Resolved till death their sacred charge to guard
So the brave mariners their pumps attend,
And help, incessant, by rotation lend;
But all in vain,-for now the sounding cord,
Updrawn, an undiminish'd depth explored.
Nor this severe distress is found alone;
The ribs, oppress'd by ponderous cannon, groan
Deep rolling from the watery volume's height,
The tortured sides seem bursting with their weight.
So reels Pelorus with convulsive throes,
When in his veins the burning earthquake glows
Hoarse through his entrails roars th' infernal flame,
And central thunders rend his groaning frame.-
Accumulated mischiefs thus arise,

And Fate, vindictive, all their skill defies.
One only remedy the season gave;

To plunge the nerves of battle in the wave:
From their high platforms, thus, th'artillery thrown
Eased of their load, the timbers less shall groan:
But arduous is the task their lot requires;
A task that hovering fate alone inspires :
For while intent the yawning decks to ease,
That ever and anon are drench'd with seas,
Some fatal billow with recoiling sweep,
May hurl the helpless wretches in the deep.
No season this for counsel or delay!
Too soon th' eventful moments haste away!
Here perseverance, with each help of art,
Must join the boldest efforts of the neart;
These only now their misery can relieve;
These only now a dawn of safety give!
While o'er the quivering deck, from van to rear
Broad surges roll in terrible career,
Redmond, Arion and a chosen crew,
This office in the face of death pursue;
The wheel'd artillery o'er the deck to guide,
Rodmond descending claim'd the weather side:
Fearless of heart the chief his orders gave,
Fronting the rude assaults of every wave. [deep,
Like some strong watch-tower, nodding o'er the
Whose rocky base the foaming waters sweep,
Untamed he stood; the stern aërial war
Had marked his honest face with many a scar
Meanwhile Arion, traversing the waist,

The well is an apartment in the ship's hold, serving to enclose the pumps. It is sounded by dropping a mea sured iron rod down into it by a long line. Hence the in crease or diminution of the leaks are easily discovered.

The brake is the lever or handle of the pump, by which it is wrought.

The waist of a ship of this kind is a hollow space. about five feet in depth, between the elevations of the