E’en he had staggered at this dreadful scene.
In vain the cords and axes were prepar’d,
For every wave now smites the quivering yard;
High o’er the ship they throw a dreadful shade,
Then on her burst in terrible cascade;
Across the foundered deck o’erwhelming roar,
And foaming, swelling, bound upon the shore.
Swift up the mounting billow now she flies,
Her shattered top half buried in the skies;
Borne o’er a latent reef the hull impends,