"The ship was cheered, the harbor cleared; Merrily did we drop Below the kirk, below the hill, Below the light-house top. The sun came up upon the left, Out of the sea came he; And he shone bright, and on the right Went down into the sea; 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 thus spake on that ancient man, The bright-eyed Mariner: The Mariner tells line. The Wedding- The ship drawn "And now the Storm-blast came, and he ya storm tow Was tyrannous and strong; He struck with his o'ertaking wings, And chased us south along. With sloping masts and dipping prow As who pursued with yell and blow Still treads the shadow of his foe, And forward bends his head ard the south pole. The land of ice Till a great seabird, called the Albatross, came through the snow-fog, and The ship drove fast; loud roared the blast, And southward aye we fled. And now there came both mist and snow, And it grew wondrous cold; And ice, mast-high, came floating by, And through the drifts the snowy cliffs Nor shapes of men nor beasts we ken- The ice was here, the ice was there, It cracked and growled, and roared and howled, Like noises in a swound! At length did cross an Albatross- was received with As if it had been a Christian soul, great joy and hospitality. And lo! the Al batross proveth a loweth the ship northward through fog We hailed it in God's name. It ate the food it ne'er had eat, And round and round it flew. The ice did split with a thunder-fit; And a good south wind sprung up be hind; The Albatross did follow, and floating ice. And every day, for food or play, Came to the mariners' hollo! |