The flames approach with giant strides, They scorch his hands and brow; One arm disabled seeks his side: Ah, he is conquered now! But no; his teeth are firmly set, He crushes down his pain; His knee upon the stanchion pressed, He guides the ship again.
One moment yet, one moment yet! Brave heart, thy task is o’er! The pebbles grate beneath the keel, The steamer touches shore. Three hundred grateful voices rise In praise to God, that He Hath saved them from the fearful fire And from th’ ingulfing sea.
But where is he, that helmsman bold? The captain saw him reel; His nerveless hands released their task, He sank beside the wheel. The wave received his lifeless corpse, Blackened with smoke and fire. God rest him! Never hero had A nobler funeral pyre.
Excalibur.
