204 MYSTERIES:
THE RAPE OF DEATH.
ARGUMENT.—Sir Godfrey, a knight of Normandy, leapeth intoa
light vessel of Jarl Hungard, while they sit at feast, and, slaying
the crew, seeketh the high seas with the Lady Thurla. He
slayeth the swiftest pursuers, and escapeth in a great tempest;
which on the second day abating, he maketh the inside of a bar,
and must await the breeze. Jarl Hungard coming with his men
and two dragons, is wrecked, but a knave shooting, slayeth the
Lady Thurla. Sir Godfrey forthwith sinketh the other dragon,
and saileth forth into the ocean, and is not heard of ever after.
ALE vapours lie like phantoms on the sea,
The tide swells slumberous beneath our keel,
The pulses of our canvas fail; and we
No faint sweet summons from the south wind feel:
The crimson waters of the west are pale,
And bloodless arrows like a stream of steel
Flash from the moon, that rises where the gale
Only a day past raged; the clouds are lost
In pleasant rains that ripple on the sail.
The sudden fascination of the frost
Touches the heavy canvas ; and there form
Reluctant crystals, and the vessel, tossed