It ceased; yet still the sails made on A pleasant noise till noon, A noise like of a hidden brook In the leafy month of June, Singeth a quiet tune. Till noon we quietly sailed on, Under the keel nine fathom deep, The sails at noon left off their tune, The Sun, right up above the mast, The lonesome spirit from the south-pole carries on the ship as far as the line, in obedience to the angelic troop, but still requireth vengeance. 1 The Polar Spirit's fel Then like a pawing horse let go, How long in that same fit I lay, low dæmons, I have not to declare; the invisible inhabitants of But ere my living life returned, the element, take part in his wrong; and two of them relate, one to the other, that penance long and heavy for the ancient I heard and in my soul discerned TWO VOICES in the air. " Is it he?" quoth one, "Is this the man? Mariner hath By him who died on cross, been accorded to the Polar Spirit, who returneth southward. With his cruel bow he laid full low, The harmless Albatross. The spirit who bideth by himself In the land of mist and snow, He loved the bird that loved the man Who shot him with his bow." The other was a softer voice, As soft as honey-dew: Quoth he, "The man hath penance done, OF THE ANCIENT MARINER. PART THE SIXTH. FIRST VOICE. BUT tell me, tell me! speak again, Thy soft response renewing What makes that ship drive on so fast? What is the OCEAN doing? SECOND VOICE. Still as a slave before his lord, If he may know which way to go; FIRST VOICE. The Mariner But why drives on that ship so fast, cast into a trance; for the angelic power causeth the vessel to drive north Without or wave or wind? SECOND VOICE. ward faster than human The air is cut away before, life could endure. And closes from behind. Fly, brother, fly! more high, more high ! For slow and slow that ship will go, When the Mariner's trance is abated. the superna I woke, and we were sailing on tural motion is retarded; the Mariner awakes, and As in a gentle weather : his penance 'Twas night, calm night, the Moon was high ; begins anew. The dead men stood together. All stood together on the deck, For a charnel-dungeon fitter : That in the Moon did glitter. The pang, the curse, with which they died, I could not draw my eyes from theirs, And now this spell was snapt: once more And looked far forth, yet little saw Like one, that on a lonesome road Doth walk in fear and dread, And having once turned round walks on, Because he knows, a frightful fiend But soon there breathed a wind on me, Nor sound nor motion made : Its path was not upon the sea, It raised my hair, it fanned my cheek Swiftly, swiftly flew the ship, The curse is finally expiated. |