SELECTIONS IN ENGLISH POETRY

Beyond the shadow of the ship,

I watched the water-snakes:

They moved in tracks of shining white,

And when they reared, the elfish light

Fell off in hoary flakes.

By the light
of the Moon he
beholdeth God's
creatures of the
great calm*

275

Within the shadow of the ship

I watched their rich attire:

Blue, glossy green, and velvet black,

They coiled and swam; and every track

Was a flash of golden fire.

O happy living things! no tongue

Their beauty might declare:

A spring of love gushed from my heart,

And 1 blessed them unaware;

Sure my kind saint took pity on me,

And I blessed them unaware.

280

Their beauty
and thair hap-
piness.
He blesseth
them in his
heart*

285

The selfsame moment I could pray;
And from my neck so free
The Albatross fell off, and sank
Like lead into the sea.

The spell
begins to break.

290

PART THE FIFTH

*Oh sleep! it is a gentle thing,
Beloved from pole to pole!
To Mary Queen the praise be given !
She sent the gentle sleep from Heaven,
That sfid into my souL

The silly buckets on the deck,
That had so long remained,

97

295

By grace of
the holy Mother,
the ancient