Изображения страниц
PDF
EPUB

+

the spint

Water, water, everywhere,

And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,

Nor any drop to drink.

The very deep did rot: O Christ!
That ever this should be!

Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs
Upon the slimy sea.

About, about, in reel and rout
The death-fires danced at night;
The water, like a witch's oils,
Burnt green, and blue, and white.

And some in dreams assurèd were
Of the spirit that plagued us so:
Nine fathom deep he had followed us
From the land of mist and snow.

And every tongue, through utter drought,
Was withered at the root;
We could not speak, no more than if

We had been choked with soot.

Ah, well-a-day! what evil looks

Had I from old and young!
Instead of the cross, the Albatross
About neck was hung.
my

And the Albatross

begins to be
avenged.

A spirit had fol-
lowed them; one
of the invisible
inhabitants of
this planet,
neither departed
souls nor angels;
concerning which
the learned Jew,
Josephus, and
the Platonic Con -
stantinopolitan,
Michael Psellus.
may be consulted.
They are very
numerous, and
there is no clí-
mate or element
without one or
more.

The ship-mates,
in their sore dis-
tress, would fain
throw the whole
guilt on the an-
cient Mariner; in
sign whereof they
hang the dead
sea-bird round
his neck.

[ocr errors]

The ancient Mar

PART III.

There passed a weary time.

Each throat

Was parched, and glazed each eye.
A weary time! a weary time!

How glazed each weary eye,

iner beholdeth a When looking westward, I beheld

sign in the ele

ment afar off.

At its nearer
approach, it
seemeth him to
be a ship; and
at a dear ransom
he freeth his
speech from the
bonds of thirst.

A flash of joy;

And horror follows. For can it be a ship that comes onward without wind or tide?

A something in the sky.

At first it seemed a little speck,
And then it seemed a mist;

It moved and moved, and took at last
A certain shape, I wist.

A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist!
And still it neared and neared:
As if it dodged a water-sprite,

It plunged and tacked and veered.

With throats unslaked, with black lips baked,
We could nor laugh nor wail;

Through utter drought all dumb we stood!
I bit my arm, I sucked the blood,

And cried, A sail! a sail!

With throats unslaked, with black lips baked,
Agape they heard me call:

Gramercy! they for joy did grin,

And all at once their breath drew in,
As they were drinking all.

See! see! (I cried), she tacks no more.
Hither to work us weal,

Without a breeze, without a tide,

She steadies with upright keel!

The western wave was all a-flame.

The day was well-nigh done! Almost upon the western wave

Rested the broad bright Sun;

When that strange shape drove suddenly
Betwixt us and the Sun.

And straight the Sun was flecked with bars,
(Heaven's Mother send us grace!)

As if through a dungeon-grate he peered
With broad and burning face.

Alas! (thought I, and my heart beat loud)
How fast she nears and nears!

Are those her sails that glance in the Sun,
Like restless gossameres ?

Are those her ribs through which the Sun
Did peer, as through a grate?

And is that Woman all her crew?
Is that a Death? and are there two?
Is Death that Woman's mate?

Her lips were red, her looks were free,

Her locks were yellow as gold:
Her skin was as white as leprosy,
The Night-mare, Life-in-Death was she,✓
Who thicks man's blood with cold.

The naked hulk alongside came,

And the twain were casting dice;

'The game is done! I've won, I've won!' Quoth she, and whistles thrice.

It seemeth him but the skeleton of a ship.

And its ribs are seen as bars on the face of the setting Sun. The Spectre-Woman and her Deathmate, and no other on board the skeleton ship.

Like vessel, like crew!

Death and Lifein-Death have diced for the ship's crew and she (the latter) winneth the ancient Mariner.

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small]

The Sun's rim dips; the stars rush out;
At one stride comes the dark;
With far-heard whisper, o'er the sea,
Off shot the spectre-bark.

We listened and looked sideways up!
Fear at my heart, as at a cup,

My life-blood seemed to sip!

i

The stars were dim, and thick the night,
The steersman's face by his lamp gleamed white;
From the sails the dew did drip, -

Till clomb above the eastern bar
The hornèd Moon, with one bright star
Within the nether tip.

One after one, by the star-dogged Moon,
Too quick for groan or sigh,

Each turned his face with a ghastly pang
And cursed me with his eye.

Four times fifty living men,

(And I heard nor sigh nor groan,) With heavy thump, a lifeless lump, They dropped down one by one.

-

The souls did from their bodies fly, -
They fled to bliss or woe!
And every soul, it passed me by,

Like the whizz of my cross-bow!"

V

[blocks in formation]

I fear thee and thy glittering eye,

And thy skinny hand, so brown.".

"Fear not, fear not, thou Wedding-Guest! But the ancient

This body dropt not down.

Alone, alone, all, all alone,

Alone on a wide wide sea! And never a saint took pity on My soul in agony.

The many men, so beautiful!
And they all dead did lie:
And a thousand thousand slimy things
Lived on; and so did I.

I looked upon the rotting sea,
And drew my eyes away;
I looked upon the rotting deck,
And there the dead men lay.

I looked to Heaven, and tried to pray;
But or ever a prayer had gusht,
A wicked whisper came, and made
My heart as dry as dust.

Mariner assureth him of his bodily life, and proceedeth to relate his horrible penance.

He despiseth the creatures of the calm.

And envieth that they should live, and so many lie dead.

« ПредыдущаяПродолжить »