"Ho, mates," cries he, "rejoice with me,

For I have shot a seal."

Nay, Tom, by the mass thou art but an ass,

No seal bestains this foam;

But the long wave rolls up a Mermaid's glass

And a young Mermaiden's comb.

The sun has set, the night-clouds throng,

The sea is steely grey.

They hear the dying Mermaid's song

Peal from the outer bay.