SELKIRK'S LIBERTY.
71
He heeded not; on pinions fleet as thought,
His heart was fluttering round the one white speck
That floated in the distance, to his sight
Just visible, and seeming like the foam
That capped some mountain-wave. He gazed until
His eye-balls ached with their intensity,
And his strong heart was melted in the gaze,
For in that dim and far-off object lay
The only link connecting him with life.
His heart was fluttering round the one white speck
That floated in the distance, to his sight
Just visible, and seeming like the foam
That capped some mountain-wave. He gazed until
His eye-balls ached with their intensity,
And his strong heart was melted in the gaze,
For in that dim and far-off object lay
The only link connecting him with life.
Slowly, as if inviting him to take
One long, last look at her too graceful spars,
Ere from his eager sight they passed away
Forever, like the beings of a dream,
The vessel disappeared.
Would she return?
A wild tumultuous hope throbbed at his heart
One moment for an entrance, but a strange
And sudden sense of freedom sent it back
To its abiding place within his heart,
A trembling fugitive. For he was free;
Free to do what? To climb the precipice,
To rival the wild animals in speed,
To mock the sea-bird's cry! Yes, he was free
To do all these—free to engage in that,
Which would not summon forth observant eyes
To mark with jealous caution his success.
The precipice might throw her ledge of rocks
One long, last look at her too graceful spars,
Ere from his eager sight they passed away
Forever, like the beings of a dream,
The vessel disappeared.
Would she return?
A wild tumultuous hope throbbed at his heart
One moment for an entrance, but a strange
And sudden sense of freedom sent it back
To its abiding place within his heart,
A trembling fugitive. For he was free;
Free to do what? To climb the precipice,
To rival the wild animals in speed,
To mock the sea-bird's cry! Yes, he was free
To do all these—free to engage in that,
Which would not summon forth observant eyes
To mark with jealous caution his success.
The precipice might throw her ledge of rocks
