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Shakes gently o'er the watcher's brow,
And seals those eyes, so firmly set.
Scarce had the loosening limbs given way,
The demon falls upon his prey,
And hurls him, dragging wood-work rent
And rudder in his prone descent,
With headlong ruin to the main,
Invoking friendly aid in vain:
Himself resumes his wings, and flies
Aloft into the buoyant skies.
Yet still the fleet by Neptune's aid
Floats onward, safe and undismayed,
Till as they near the Sirens' shore,
A perilous neighbourhood of yore
And white with mounded bones,
Where the hoarse sea with far-heard roar
Keeps washing on the stones,
The good chief feels the vessel sway,
No steersman to direct its way,
And takes himself the helm, and guides
Their progress through the darkling tides.
Full many a heart-fetched groan he heaved,
Thus of his hapless friend bereaved:
'Ah fatal confidence, too prone
To trust in sea and sky!
A naked corpse on shores unknown
Shall Palinurus lie!'