Like mountains the billows tremendously swell;
In vain the lost wretch calls on mercy to save;
Unseen hands of spirits are ringing his knell,
And the death-angel flaps his broad wings o'er the wave!
O sailor-boy, woe to thy dream of delight!
In darkness dissolves the gay frost-work of bliss.
Where now is the picture that fancy touched bright,—
Thy parent's fond pressure, and love's honeyed kiss?
O sailor-boy! sailor-boy! never again
Shall home, love or kindred thy wishes repay;
Unblessed and unhonored, down deep in the main,
Full many a fathom thy frame shall decay.
[Illustration: LIKE MOUNTAINS THE BILLOWS SWELL]
No tomb shall e'er plead to remembrance for thee,
Or redeem form or frame from the merciless surge,
But the white foam of waves shall thy winding sheet be,
And winds in the midnight of winter thy dirge.
On a bed of green sea flowers thy limbs shall be laid,—
Around thy white bones the red coral shall grow;
Of thy fair yellow locks threads of amber be made,
And every part suit to thy mansion below.
Days, months, years, and ages shall circle away,
And still the vast waters above thee shall roll;
Earth loses thy pattern forever and aye,—
O sailor-boy! sailor-boy! peace to thy soul!
THE SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON [Footnote: Defoe's Robinson Crusoe was so very popular that a host of imitations of it were written. Most of them have been entirely forgotten but one, The Swiss Family Robinson, by Johann Rudolph Wyss, proved so popular, especially with children that it was translated from the original German into several languages and new editions are still appearing, though the book was published in 1813.
The Swiss Family Robinson gives the story of a family who were cast away by shipwreck, on an uninhabited island. By no means all of the book is given here—any of the interesting adventures and ingenious experiments have been of necessity omitted—but the parts here given tell a continuous story.]