Page:Livingstone in Africa.djvu/76

With one intolerable rift of light
Vibrating in the immeasurable waste
Of massy, torn, wan water that ascends,
To meet confusion of the hurrying cloud,
Releasing misty momentary rays;
While in this shifting gulf of utter light,
A snowy sail shows black as ebony.

"Spell-bound we pause: we had follow'd this our Father,
Him of the honest heart, our wise white friend,
Through weal and woe, a weary, weary way,
From our own homes; in face of all the people
Spake, while we journey'd through their several lands,
That never white man brought an African
Here to the coast, save only to enslave;
But we would trust our father; we had proved
Him well, and he had promised; yea, we know
The English have good hearts for Africa!
And yet we pause at the sublime surprise.
For we had faith in what our Ancients told,