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And towering on high in her conscious pride,
As she walks the queen of the boundless tide.
But though there is joy in the laughing sky,
Peace on the waters, and smiles on high;
And though the dark forms of gathering men,
Clustering the snow-white deck are seen,
Yet the mingling glories of sea and sky
Seem not to glad one gazing eye,
For a shade of unwonted sadness now
Darkens each sea-beat and manly brow,
And a feeling of awe-stricken sorrow rests
Like a weight on the spring of those joyous breasts.
No marvel. Each sprang to his station there,
As the well-known signal struck on his ear;—
But not to contend with the raging blast,
And cling for life to the bending mast;
And not in the death-strife to meet the foe,—
For then would each bosom with ardour glow,—
But to give to that dark and shoreless wave
The cold remains of the young and brave;
To lay his form for its last long sleep,
'Mid the coral caves of the boundless deep.
As she walks the queen of the boundless tide.
But though there is joy in the laughing sky,
Peace on the waters, and smiles on high;
And though the dark forms of gathering men,
Clustering the snow-white deck are seen,
Yet the mingling glories of sea and sky
Seem not to glad one gazing eye,
For a shade of unwonted sadness now
Darkens each sea-beat and manly brow,
And a feeling of awe-stricken sorrow rests
Like a weight on the spring of those joyous breasts.
No marvel. Each sprang to his station there,
As the well-known signal struck on his ear;—
But not to contend with the raging blast,
And cling for life to the bending mast;
And not in the death-strife to meet the foe,—
For then would each bosom with ardour glow,—
But to give to that dark and shoreless wave
The cold remains of the young and brave;
To lay his form for its last long sleep,
'Mid the coral caves of the boundless deep.
Oh, sad was his fate! glad, bright, and gay,
He bounded along life's onward way,
With a lion's heart in its manly glow,
Yet a woman's love in its softer flow;
Beloved by all: scarce a grief or fear
Had dimmed the sun of his brief career:
Yet now, alas! cut down like a flower,
Laid low in the pride of his morning hour:
Not e'en in the struggle for life and fame,
To leave behind a death-hallowed name,
He bounded along life's onward way,
With a lion's heart in its manly glow,
Yet a woman's love in its softer flow;
Beloved by all: scarce a grief or fear
Had dimmed the sun of his brief career:
Yet now, alas! cut down like a flower,
Laid low in the pride of his morning hour:
Not e'en in the struggle for life and fame,
To leave behind a death-hallowed name,
