Most of all, the Spanish ballad Haunts me oft, and tarries long, Of the noble Count Arnaldos And the sailor's mystic song. Like the long waves on a sea-beach, Where the sand as silver shines, With a soft, monotonous cadence, Flow its unrhymed lyric lines ; Telling how the Count Arnaldos, Saw a fair and stately galley, How he heard the ancient helmsman Chant a song so wild and clear, That the sailing sea-bird slowly Poised upon the mast to hear, Till his soul was full of longing, And he cried, with impulse strong: "Helmsman! for the love of heaven, Teach me, too, that wondrous song!" "Wouldst thou,"—so the helmsman answered, "Learn the secret of the sea? Only those who brave its dangers In each sail that skims the horizon, I behold that stately galley, Hear those mournful melodies, Till my soul is full of longing For the secret of the sea, And the heart of the great ocean Sends a thrilling pulse through me. TWILIGHT. THE twilight is sad and cloudy, The wind blows wild and free, And like the wings of sea-birds Flash the white caps of the sea. But in the fisherman's cottage And a little face at the window Peers out into the night. Close, close it is pressed to the window, As if those childish eyes Were looking into the darkness, And a woman's waving shadow Now bowing and bending low. What tale do the roaring ocean, And the night-wind, bleak and wild, As they beat at the crazy casement, Tell to that little child? And why do the roaring ocean, And the night-wind, wild and bleak, As they beat at the heart of the mother, Drive the color from her cheek? |