"Made it up, thank God. But I am weary. Set me down awhile, and I will tell you how it befell."Wondering, they sat him down upon the heather, while the bees hummed round them in the sun; and Amyas felt for a hand of each, and clasped it in his own hand, and began :-"When you left me there upon the rock, lads, I looked away and out to sea, to get one last snuff of the merry sea breeze which will never sail me again. And, as I looked, I tell you truth, I could see the water and the sky as plain as ever I saw them, till I thought my sight was come again. But soon I knew it was not so; for I saw more than man could see-right over the ocean, as I live, and away to the Spanish Main. And I saw Barbadoes, and Grenada, and all the isles that we ever sailed by; and La Guayra in Caracas, and the house where she lived. And I saw him walking with her, and he loved her then. I saw what I saw; and he loved her; and I say he loves her still. "Then I saw the cliffs beneath me, and the Gull Rock, andthe Shutter, and the Ledge; I saw them, William Cary, and the weeds beneath the merry blue sea. And I saw the grand old galleon, Will. She lies in fifteen fathoms, at the edge of the rocks, upon the sand. And I saw him sitting in his cabin, like a valiant gentleman of Spain; and his officers were sitting round him, with their swords upon the table. Then Don Guzman took a locket from his bosom; and I heard him speak Will, and he said, "Here"s the picture of my fair and true lady; drink to her, senors all."
"Then he spoke to me, Will, and called me, right through the sea: "We have had a fair quarrel, senor; it is time to be friends once more. My wife and your brother have forgiven me, so your honour takes no stain." And I answered, "We are friends, Don Guzman; God has judged our quarrel, and not we." Then he said, " I sinned, and I am punished." And I said, "And senor, so am I." Then he held out his hand to me, Cary; and I stooped to take it, and awoke."Charles Kingsley, in Westward Ho!
Author.-Charles (1819-1875) was an English clergyman and novelist. His chief works are Alton Locke, Yeast, Hypatia, Westward Ho!, Two Years Ago, The Water Babies, and Hereward the Wake.
General Notes.-Amyas Leith, the hero of Westward Ho!, was a young man of great bodily strength and amiable disposition, but very combative. His revenge, as you will see, was frustrated. Read up in your history the story of the Armada. Find Orkneys, Shetlands, and Faroes onthe map, also the other places mentioned. Sir John Hawkins is a truly historical character, a brave and hardy sea captain, but not above piracy and slave dealing. Don Guzman, the Rose of Toridge, Cary, and Yeo-for these, consult the novel itself. Don is the Spanish equivalent of Mr., and Se?or is the Spanish for sir. The mark over the n, making it sound like ny, is called a tilde.
Drawn by W.S. Wemyss
LESSON 30
THE mOON IS up
The moon is up. the stars are bright, The wind is fresh and free !
We"re out to seek for gold to-night Across the silver sea !
The world was growing grey and old; Break out the sails again !
We"re out to seek a Realm of Gold Beyond the Spanish Main.
We"re sick of all the cringing knees, The courtly smiles and lies !
God, let Thy singing Channel breeze Lighten our hearts and eyes !
Let love no more be bought and sold For earthly loss or gain;We"re out to seek an Age of Gold Beyond the Spanish Main.
Beyond the light of far Cathay, Beyond all mortal dreams,Beyond the reach of night and day Our El Dorado gleams,Revealing-as the skies unfold- A star without a stain,The glory of the Gates of Gold Beyond the Spanish Main.
Alfred Noyes.
Author.-Alfred Noyes (born 1880), a fluent English poet of wide appeal, author of The Loom of Years, The Flower of Old Japan, Drake, and other verse, largely heroic, besides plays, short stories, and essays.
General Notes.-Note that the metre is wholly iambic. The Spanish Main was the country bordering on the Caribbean Sea. The " Realm of Gold" is a reference to the mythical El Dorado : the "Age of Gold" is a time of universal happiness, sometimes pictured in the remote past, perhaps in the remote future; Cathay, an old name for China. The whole purpose of the poem is to picture the quest of the ideal and to reveal the light that never was on sea or land.
LESSON 31
DRAkE"S DRum
Drake he"s in his hammock an" a thousand mile away, (Capten, art tha sleepin" there below?)Slung atween the round shot in Nombre Dios Bay, An" dreamin" arl the time o" Plymouth Hoe.
Yarnder lumes the Island, yarnder lie the ships, Wi" sailor lads a-dancin" heel-an"-toe,An" the shore-lights flashin", an" the night-tide dashin",He sees et arl so plainly as he saw et long ago.
Drake he was a Devon man, an" ruled the Devon seas, (Capten, art tha sleepin" there below?)Rovin" tho" his death fell, he went wi" heart at ease, An" dreamin" arl the time o" Plymouth Hoe.
"Take my drum to England, hang et by the shore, Strike et when your powder"s runnin" low;If the Dons sight Devon, I"ll quit the port o" Heaven,An" drum them up the Channel as we drummed them long ago."Drake he"s in his hammock till the great Armadas come,(Capten, art tha sleepin" there below? )
Slung atween the round shot, listenin" for the drum, An" dreamin" arl the time o" Plymouth Hoe.
Call him on the deep sea, call him up the Sound, Call him when ye sail to meet the foe;Where the old trade"s plyin" an" the old flag flyin"
They shall find him ware an" wakin", as they found him long ago!
Sir Henry Newbolt.
Author.-Sir Henry Newbolt (1862-1938), English poet, educated at Oxford, and practised as a barrister. He secured popularity by the patriotic ring and fervour of his verse in Admirals All, The Island Race, The Sailing of the Long Ships, and Poems New and Old. He also wrote plays, prose romances, naval and military histories, and edited anthologies.
