Fair Geraldine, who met the embrace, Which when she viewed, a vision fell The vision of fear, the touch and pain! Thou gentle maid! such sights to see?) Again she felt that bosom cold, And drew in her breath with a hissing sound: Whereat the Knight turned wildly round, And nothing saw, but his own sweet maid With eyes upraised, as one that prayed. The touch, the sight, had passed away, With new surprise, Yet he, who saw this Geraldine, Sweet Christabel, that gentle maid! Nay, by my soul!" said Leoline. “Nay! "Ho! Bracy, the bard, the charge be thine! And when he has crossed the Irthing flood, Up Knorren Moor, through Halegarth Wood, Which stands and threatens Scotland's wastes. "Bard Bracy! bard Bracy! your horses are fleet, And take thy lovely daughter home: White with their panting palfreys' foam : C An ancient Mariner meeteth three gallants bidden to a weddingfeast, and de taineth one. The wedding guest is spellbound by the eye of the old sea-faring man, and constrained to hear his tale. THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER. IN SEVEN PARTS. PART I. T is an ancient Mariner, And he stoppeth one of three, "By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me ? "The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin ; The guests are met, the feast is set : May'st hear the merry din." He holds him with his skinny hand, "There was a ship," quoth he. "Hold off! unhand me, grey-beard loon!" He holds him with his glittering eye— And listens like a three years' child: The wedding-guest sat on a stone : And thus spake on that ancient man, The ship was cheered, the harbour cleared, Merrily did we drop Below the kirk, below the hill, Below the light house top. The sun came up upon the left, And he shone bright, and on the right Higher and higher every day, Till over the mast at noon The Wedding-Guest here beat his breast, The bride hath paced into the hall, Nodding their heads before her goes The Wedding-Guest he beat his breast, And now the storm-blast came, and he He struck with his o'ertaking wings, With sloping masts and dipping prow, The Mariner The wedding guest heareth the bridal music; but the mariner continueth his tale. The ship drawn by a storm toward the south pole. The land of ice, and of fearful sounds where no living thing was to be seen. Till a great sea-bird, called the Albatross, camethrough the snow-fog, and was received with great joy and hospitality. And lo! the Albatross proveth a bird of good omen, and followeth the ship as it returned northward through fog and floating ice. The ship drove fast, loud roared the blast, And now there came both mist and snow, And ice, mast-high, came floating by, And through the drifts the snowy clifts Nor shapes of men nor beasts we ken- The ice was here, the ice was there, It cracked and growled, and roared and howled, At length did cross an Albatross, As if it had been a Christian soul, It ate the food it ne'er had eat, And a good south wind sprung up behind; And every day, for food or play, In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud, |