the cabin boy.
175
The Cabin Boy, with brow all joy and gladness,
And heart with fondest thoughts of home elate,
Stood on the deck; how could one pulse of sadness
Throb in a bosom with such hopes replete?
And heart with fondest thoughts of home elate,
Stood on the deck; how could one pulse of sadness
Throb in a bosom with such hopes replete?
Oh! what bright visions sweetly swam before him
Of his loved home! His heart beat wild and high.
Could it indeed be so 2—should night restore him
To his own mother? Lost in ecstacy,
The Boy thus mused, his blue eye softly beaming,
Bright with the hopes that trembled in his breast:
When, lo! a voice aroused from its fond dreaming,
The heart in its own golden visions blest,
With "Wherefore stand you musing there, young dreamer?
Aloft, and hoist old England's colours bright;
We see Britannia's cliffs, before a streamer
Is seen to glitter in the sunset's light."
Of his loved home! His heart beat wild and high.
Could it indeed be so 2—should night restore him
To his own mother? Lost in ecstacy,
The Boy thus mused, his blue eye softly beaming,
Bright with the hopes that trembled in his breast:
When, lo! a voice aroused from its fond dreaming,
The heart in its own golden visions blest,
With "Wherefore stand you musing there, young dreamer?
Aloft, and hoist old England's colours bright;
We see Britannia's cliffs, before a streamer
Is seen to glitter in the sunset's light."
With bounding heart, the gallant boy obeyed—
The flag unfurling with a joyous hand,
As from the mast with rapture he survey'd
The sunny outlines of his native land.
"Huzza!" he cried, when to the top advanced,
"Our own dear England's happy shores are nigh!"
Then from the giddy height he downward glanced—
But, in.the sudden wildness of his joy,
He miss'd his hold: and hark! from the bright ocean
There comes a desperate and fearful scream,
And from the deck they see, with sad emotion,
The struggling boy, and the flag's crimson gleam,
The flag unfurling with a joyous hand,
As from the mast with rapture he survey'd
The sunny outlines of his native land.
"Huzza!" he cried, when to the top advanced,
"Our own dear England's happy shores are nigh!"
Then from the giddy height he downward glanced—
But, in.the sudden wildness of his joy,
He miss'd his hold: and hark! from the bright ocean
There comes a desperate and fearful scream,
And from the deck they see, with sad emotion,
The struggling boy, and the flag's crimson gleam,
