55 If thou shouldst in those waters thy diadem* fling,

Diadem, a

royal crown.

And "Who may find it shall win it and wear;' cry, God wot, though the prize were the crown of a king- Wot, to

*

A crown at such hazard were valued too dear.
For never shall lips of the living reveal *

60 What the deeps that howl yonder in terror conceal.

*

know.

Reveal, to

make known

Oh, many a bark, to that breast grappled fast,
Has gone down to the fearful and fathomless grave; Fathomless,
Again, crashed together the keel* and the mast,

To be seen tossed aloft in the glee of the wave! 65 Like the growth of a storm ever louder and clearer, Grows the roar of the gulf rising nearer and nearer.

70

that of which the depth cannot be

found. A
fathom is a
nautical
measure of

six feet.
Keel, the bot-

Wrath, arger.

And it bubbles and seethes, and it hisses and roars, As when fire is with water commixed and contending; tom of a ship. And the spray of its wrath * to the welkin up-soars, And flood upon flood hurries on, never ending, And as with the swell of the far thunder-boom, Rushes roaringly forth from the heart of the glɔom. And lo! from the heart of that far-floating gloom, Like the wing of the cygnet *--what gleams on the sea? Cygnet, a 75 Lo! an arm and a neck glancing up from the tomb! Steering stalwart and shoreward. O joy, it is he! The left hand is lifted in triumph; behold,

80

*

It waves as a trophy * the goblet of gold!

And he breathed deep, and he breathed long,
And he greeted the heavenly delight of the day.

*

young swan.

Stalwart,
&c., swim-
ming bravely
to shore.
Trophy, any-
thing taken
from an

enemy and

mark of vic

They gaze on each other-they shout as they throng- kept as a
"He lives-lo, the ocean has rendered its prey!
And safe from the whirlpool and free from the grave,
Comes back to the daylight the soul of the brave!"

tory.
Prey, plun-
der, that

which is

85 And he comes, with the crowd in their clamour and glee;* seized to be
And the goblet his daring has won from the water,
He lifts to the king as he sinks on his knee-

And the king from her maidens has beckoned his
daughter.

She pours to the boy the bright wine which they bring,
90 And thus spoke the Diver-"Long life to the King!
"Happy they whom the rose-hues of daylight rejoice,
The air and the sky that to mortals are given !
May the horror below nevermore find a voice-

devoured. Glee, joy, gladness.

Nor man,

&c. May

man never

tempt God

Nor man stretch too far the wide mercy of heaven!* by rushing

95 Nevermore, nevermore may he lift from the sight The veil which is woven with terror and night!

into unnecessary danger.

The circle, the whirl

pool, a place where the

water whirls

round very quickly. Elements, among the ancients,

earth, fire,

air, and

water were

so called.

reptile, in shape some

"Quick brightening like lightning, the ocean rushed
o'er me,

Wild floating, borne down fathom-deep from the day;
Till a torrent rushed out on the torrents that bore me,
And doubled the tempest that whirled me away.
Vain, vain was my struggle-the circle* had won me,
Round and round in its dance the mad element* spun me.

"From the deep, then I called upon God, and He heard

I

me;

In the dread of my need, he vouchsafed to mine eye
A rock jutting out from the grave that interred me;
sprung there, I clung there, and death passed me by.
And lo! where the goblet gleamed through the abyss,
By a coral reef saved from the far Fathomless.

"Below, at the foot of that precipice drear,

Spread the gloomy, and purple, and pathless Obscure!
A silence of horror that slept on the ear,

That the eye more appalled might the horror endure!
Salamander, Salamander,* snake, dragon *-vast reptiles that dwell
a very large In the deep-coiled about the grim jaws of their hell.
«Dark crawled, glided dark the unspeakable swarms,
Clumped together in masses, misshapen and vast;
Here clung and here bristled the fashionless forms;
Here the dark moving hulk of the hammer-fish * passed;
And with teeth grinning white, and a menacing motion,
Went the terrible shark-the hyena of ocean.

thing like a frog.

Dragon, a fabulous

winged serpent. Hammer

fish, a shark with a hammer-shaped

head.

spirits.

"There I hung, and the awe gathered icily o'er me,

So far from the earth, where man's help there was

none !

Goblins, evil The one human thing, with the goblins* before me—
Alone-in a loneness so ghastly-ALONE!
Deep under the reach of the sweet living breath,
Begirt, sur- And begirt* with the broods of the desert of Death.

rounded.

66

Methought, as I gazed through the darkness, that now
IT saw-a dread hundred-limbed creature-its prey!
And darted, devouring; I sprang from the bough
Of the coral, and swept on my horrible way;
And the whirl of the mighty wave seized me once more,
It seized me to save me, and dash to the shore."

Marvelled, On the youth gazed the monarch, and marvelled:

wondered,

astonished.

quoth he,

*

"Bold diver, the goblet I promised is thine;
And this ring I will give, a fresh guerdon to thee-
Never jewels inore precious shone up from the mine-

100

105

215

120

125

130

135

140

If thou'lt bring me fresh tidings, and venture again,
what lies hid in the innermost main!"

To

say

*

Then out spake the daughter in tender emotion
"Ah! father, my father, what more can there rest?
Enough of this sport with the pitiless ocean.

Innermost

main, the depths of the

sea.

Emotion, feeling.

Slake,

He has served thee as none would, thyself hast confest.
If nothing can slake * thy wild thirst of desire,
Let thy knights put to shame the exploit* of the squire !" quench,

145 The king seized the goblet, he swung it on high,

And whirling, it fell in the roar of the tide !
"But bring back that goblet again to my eye,
And I'll hold thee the dearest that rides by my side;
And thine arms shall embrace as thy bride, I decree,*
150 The maiden whose pity now pleadeth for thee.”

And heaven, as he listened, spoke out from the space,
And the hope that makes heroes shot flame from his
eyes;

He gazed on the blush in that beautiful face

It pales-at the feet of her father she lies!

155 How priceless the guerdon! a moment-a breathAnd headlong he plunges to life and to death!

160

They hear the loud surges sweep back in their swell,
Their coming the thunder-sound heralds * along!
Fond eyes yet are tracking the spot where he fell.
They come, the wild waters, in tumult and throng,
Roaring up to the cliff-roaring back as before,
But no wave ever brings the lost youth to the shore!

satisfy. Exploit, a heroic act.

Decree, to decide, to order

Heralds, proclaims.

GINEVRA.-Rogers.

SAMUEL ROGERS (1762-1855) was a London banker, as his father had been. In his later years he retired from business, and led a life of affluence and ease, in the society of the celebrated men and women of his time. He wrote several elaborately finished poems, the chief of which are The Pleasures of Memory, The Voyage of Columbus, Human Life, and Italy.

IF thou should'st ever come to Modena,*
Stop at a palace near the Reggio Gate,
Dwelt in of old by one of the Orsini.*
Its noble gardens, terrace* above terrace,
5 And rich in fountains, statues, cypresses,
Will long detain thee; but, before thou go,

*

*

Modena, a city in the
north of Italy.
Orsini, a noble Roman
family during

Middle Ages.

Terrace, platform.

Cypresses, ever

greens.

Detain, keep back.

the

Prithee, I pray thee.

Inclining, bending.

Broidered, embroider.

ed, fine needle work.

Emerald, a precious stone of a green coAlabaster, a kind of

Jour.

soft marble Coronet, a small

Enter the house-prithee,* forget it not,
And look awhile upon a picture there.
"Tis of a lady in her earliest youth;
She sits inclining* forward, as to speak,
Her lips half open, and her finger up,
As though she said "Beware!"-her vest of
gold,
Broidered with flowers, and clasped from
head to foot,

*

An emerald * stone in every golden clasp ;
And on her brow, fairer than alabaster,
A coronet* of pearls. But then her face,
So lovely, yet so arch,* so full of mirth,*
The overflowings* of an innocent * heart,
It haunts me still, though many a year has fled,
Like some wild melody! Alone it hangs
Over a mouldering * heirloom,* its companion
Innocent, knowing no An oaken chest, half-eaten by the worm.

crown.

Arch, roguishly, sly.
Mirth, fun.

Overflowings, out-
pourings.

evil.

Mouldering, crumbling away to dust. Heirloom, family

relic

Indulgent, kind.
Sire, father.

Gentleness, tender

ness.

Gaiety, sprightliness,
happiness.
Theme, subject.
Lustre, brilliancy,
brightness.

Bridal, wedding.

Panic, sudden fear.

She was an only child; from infancy
The joy, the pride of an indulgent * sire,*
Her mother dying of the gift she gave-
The precious gift, what else remained to him?
The young Ginevra was his all in life.
Still, as she grew, for ever in his sight,
She was all gentleness,* all gaiety,
Her pranks the favourite theme

ΙΟ

15

20

25

of every 30

But now the day was come, the day, the hour;
And in the lustre * of her youth, she gave
Her hand, with her heart in it, to Francesco.

Great was the joy; but at the bridal * feast,
When all sat down, the bride was wanting 35

there

Nor was she to be found! Her father cried,
""Tis but to make a trial of our love!"
And filled his glass to all; but his hand shock,
And soon from guest to guest the panic

spread;

*

'Twas but that instant she had left Francesco,
Laughing and looking back, and flying still,
Imprinted, indented. Her ivory tooth imprinted * on his finger.
But now, alas! she was not to be found,
Nor from that hour could anything be guessed,
But that she was not! Weary* of his life,
Venice, a city on the Francesco flew to Venice,* and forthwith

Weary, tired.

north-east coast of

Italy.

40

45

Flung it away in battle with the Turk.*

Orsini lived; and long might'st thou have seen

Turk. an inhabitant

of Turkey.

An old man wandering as in quest* of some- Quest, search.

thing,

50 Something he could not find-he knew not

what.

When he was gone, the house remained awhile
Silent and tenantless*-then went to strangers.

Full fifty years were passed and all forgot,
When on an idle day, a day of search

55 'Mid the old lumber in the gallery,

Tenantless, without

inhabitants.

That mouldering* chest was noticed; and 'twas Mouldering,

said

By one as young, as thoughtless as Ginevra,

crum

bling into dust.

Why not remove it from its lurking* place?" Lurking, hiding. 'Twas done as soon as said; but on the way

60 It burst-it fell; and, lo! a skeleton;

Nuptial, marriage.

Legacy, what is left by will.

With here and there a pearl, an emerald stone, A golden clasp, clasping a shred of gold; All else had perished-save a nuptial * ring And a small seal, her mother's legacy,* 65 Engraven with a name, the name of both"Ginevra."-There then had she found a grave! Within that chest had she concealed herself, Fluttering with joy, the happiest of the happy; Fluttering, thrilling. When a spring lock, that lay in ambush* there,

70 Fastened her down for ever!

Concealed, hidden.

ment, a hiding place.

Ambush, conceal

WATERLOO.*—Byron.

THERE was a sound of revelry * by night,
And Belgium's capital had gathered then
Her beauty and her chivalry ;* and bright
The lamps shone o'er fair women and brave

men.

5 A thousand hearts beat happily; and when
Music arose with its voluptuous * swell,
Soft eyes looked love to eyes which spake again,
And all went merry as a marriage-bell.
But hush! hark! a deep sound strikes like a rising

knell.

* Waterloo was fought on the 18th of June 1815. between the French, under Napoleon I., and the British, &c., under Wellington. The French were totally defeated.