THE NAUTILUS.
A FAIRY BOAT-SONG.
Launch our boat from the yellow sand,
Say farewell to the blooming land,
Furl airy wings, fold the mantles blue,
Drink one last cup of honey dew;
For we must leave our fairy home
On a moonlight voyage through the foam.
Spread the silken sail
To the summer gale,
Low singing across the sea;
Float away, float away,
Through foam and spray,
As if o'er a flowery lea!
Oh! fear no storm nor cloudy frown,
Though mightier ships than ours go down:
Our helmsman laughs at the wildest gale,
As he drops anchor and furls his sail;
For He who guides the sparrow's wing,
Whose love upholds the frailest thing,
Has given a spell,
To protect the shell
Through the waves' tumultuous flow.
When tempest-tost,
Unwrecked, unlost,
It sinks to calmer depths below.
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