Detdiar sidj as efterluket wurden.
47
May he not trust upon the beach,
That leads so shortly to the cot
His eager heart makes haste to reach ?
He'll swiftly cross the waves' dark track,
No threatening sea-mists warn him back.
The doubtful soil he now doth tread,
So late the refluent ocean's bed.
What change was here ! an hour before,
No sound except the tide's deep roar.
No life save what its bosom bore.
Now man's weak step is tracking free
The footprints of the mighty sea !
A thousand channels, pearled with foam,
Are rippling toward their briny home ;
And countless forms of life, sea-born,
Left by their parent wave forlorn,
Lie struggling on the slimy strand,
Foes gathering fast on every hand.
With a sharp cry the swooping gull
