Of wreck and wild distress,
But, even then, I told to none
The captain's wickedness.
For I loved the boy, and I could not cloud
His soul with a sense of shame:—
'Twere an evil thing, thought I, to blast
A sinless orphan's name!
So he grew to be a man of wealth,
And of honourable fame.
And in after years, when he had ships,