"Uncle!" he cried, and softly tapp'd the door; And think awhile on whom your bread depends! He felt a purpose to be kind at last; But now awaken'd, from this fatal time His conscience Isaac felt, and found his crime: He raised to George a monumental stone, And there retired to sigh and think alone; An ague seized him, he grew pale, and shook"So," said his son, "would my poor uncle look." "And so, my child, shall I like him expire." "No! you have physic and a cheerful fire." "Unhappy sinner! yes, I'm well supplied With every comfort my cold heart denied." He view'd his brother now, but not as one Who vex'd his wife by fondness for her son; Not as with wooden limb, and seaman's tale, So Isaac now, as led by conscience, feels, But could not breathe, and said his heart would S. T. COLERIDGE. THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER. IN SEVEN PARTS. PART I. It is an ancient Mariner, And he stoppeth one of three. "By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me? The bridegroom's doors are open'd wide, The guests are met, the feast is set: He holds him with his skinny hand, "Hold off! unhand me, grey-beard loon!" Eftsoons his hand dropt he. He holds him with his glittering eye The wedding-guest stood still, And listens like a three year's child: The Mariner hath his will. The wedding-guest sat on a stone: He cannot chuse but hear; And thus spake on that ancient man, "The ship was cheer'd, the harbour clear'd, Merrily did we drop Below the kirk, below the hill, Below the light-house top. The sun came up upon the left, And he shone bright, and on the right Higher and higher every day, The wedding-guest here beat his breast, The bride hath paced into the hall, Nodding their heads before her goes The wedding-guest he beat his breast, With sloping masts and dipping prow, The ship drove fast, loud roar'd the blast, And now there came both mist and snow, And ice, mast-high, came floating by, And through the drifts the snowy clift Nor shapes of men nor beasts we ken- The ice was here, the ice was there, It cracked and growled, and roar'd and howl'd, At length did cross an Albatross : Thorough the fog it came; As if it had been a christian soul, It ate the food it ne'er had eat, The ice did split with a thunder-fit; And a good south wind sprung up behind; And every day, for food or play, In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud, Whilst all the night, through fog-smoke white, "God save thee, ancient Mariner! From the fiends, that plague thee thus!Why look'st thou so?"-With my cross-bow I shot the Albatross! PART II. The sun now rose upon the right: Still hid in mist, and on the left And the good south wind still blew behind, And I had done an hellish thing, For all averred, I had killed the bird Ah wretch! said they, the bird to slay, Nor dim nor red, like God's own head, Then all averred, I had killed the bird "Twas right, said they, such birds to slay, The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, We were the first that ever burst Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down, 'Twas sad as sad could be; And we did speak only to break The silence of the sea! All in a hot and copper sky, The bloody sun, at noon, Right up above the mast did stand, Day after day, day after day, We stuck, nor breath nor motion, Water, water, every where, The very deep did rot: O Christ! Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs About, about, in reel and rout And some in dreams assured were And every tongue, through utter drought, Was wither'd at the root; We could not speak, no more than if We had been choak'd with soot. Ah! well a-day! what evil looks PART III. There passed a weary time. Each throat Was parched, and glazed each eye. A weary time! a weary time! At first it seem'd a little speck, It moved and moved, and took at last A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist! With throat unslack'd, with black lips baked, Through utter drought all dumb we stood! I bit my arm, I sucked the blood, And cried, A sail! a sail! With throat unslacked, with black lips baked, Agape they heard me call: Gramercy! they for joy did grin, And all at once their breath drew in, As they were drinking all. See! see! (I cried) she tacks no more! Without a breeze, without a tide, She steddies with upright keel! The western wave was all a-flame. When that strange shape drove suddenly And straight the sun was flecked with bars, As if through a dungeon-grate he peer'd, Alas! (thought I, and my heart beat loud) Are those her sails that glance in the sun, Are those her ribs through which the sun And is that woman all her crew? Is that a Death? and are there two? Is Death that woman's mate? Her lips were red, her looks were free, Her locks were yellow as gold: Her skin was as white as leprosy, The Night-mair Life-in-Death was she, Who thicks man's blood with cold. The naked hulk alongside came, And the twain were casting dice; "The game is done! I've won, I've won!" Quoth she, and whistles thrice. A gust of wind sterte up behind And whistled through his bones; [mouth, Through the holes of his eyes and the hole of his Half whistles and half groans. The sun's rim dips; the stars rush out: At one stride comes the dark; With far-heard whisper, o'er the sea, We listen'd and look'd sideways up! Fear at my heart, as at a cup, My life-blood seem'd to sip! The stars were dim, and thick the night, The steersman's face by his lamp gleam'd white; From the sails the dews did drip Till clombe above the eastern bar One after one, by the star-dogg'd moon Each turn'd his face with a ghastly pang, Four times fifty living men, The souls did from their bodies fly,- And every soul, it passed me by, PART IV. "I fear thee, ancient Mariner! I fear thy skinny hand! And thou art long, and lauk, and brown, As is the ribbed sea-sand. I fear thee and thy glittering eye, Alone, alone, all, all alone, And never a saint took pity on The many men, so beautiful! And they all dead did lie: And a thousand thousand slimy things and so did I. Liv'd on; I look'd upon the rotting sea, I look'd to Heaven, and tried to pray; But or ever a prayer had gusht, The cold sweat melted from their limbs, Nor rot nor reek did they : The look with which they look'd on me An orphan's curse would drag to hell A spirit from on high: But oh! more horrible than that Is the curse in a dead man's eye! Seven days, seven nights, I saw that curse, And yet I could not die. The moving moon went up the sky, And no where did abide: Her beams bemock'd the sultry main, A still and awful red. Beyond the shadow of the ship, I watch'd the water-snakes: They moved in tracks of shining white, And when they reared, the elfish light Fell off in hoary flakes. Within the shadow of the ship I watch'd their rich attire: Blue, glossy green, and velvet black, They coiled and swam; and every track Was a flash of golden fire. O happy living things! no tongue A spring of love gusht from my heart, Sure my kind saint took pity on me, And I blessed them unaware. The self same moment I could pray; The Albatross fell off, and sank PART V. O sleep! it is a gentle thing, To Mary Queen the praise be given! She sent the gentle sleep from Heaven, That slid into my soul. The silly buckets on the deck, That had so long remained, I dreamt that they were filled with dew; And when I awoke, it rained. Around, around, flew each sweet sound, Slowly the sounds came back again, I heard the sky-lark sing; And now 'twas like all instruments, And now it is an angel's song, It ceased; yet still the sails made on A noise like of a hidden brook Till noon we quietly sailed on, Under the keel nine fathom deep, The sun, right up above the mast, Then like a pawing horse let go, How long in that same fit I lay, But ere my living life returned, "Is it he?"quoth one, "Is this the man? By him who died on cross, With his cruel bow he laid full low, The harmless Albatross. The spirit who bideth by himself In the land of mist and snow, He loved the bird that loved the man Who shot him with his bow." The other was a softer voice, As soft as honey-dew: Quoth he, "The man hath penance done, And penance more will do." |