The foremast totters, unsustained on high;
And now the ship, forelifted by the sea,
Hurls the tall fabric backward o’er her lee;
While, in the general wreck, the faithful stay
Drags the main topmast by the cap away:
Flung from the mast, the seamen strive in vain,
Through hostile floods, their vessel to regain;
Weak Hope, alas! they buffet long the wave,
And grasp at life though sinking in the grave;
Till all exhausted, and bereft of strength,