82
There, men and angels witnessing, he stood in manhood's
pride,
And wedded with a soul-deep vow his orphan Iceland bride.
But all these years the wasting shore was crumbling, day
by day ;
With purpose sure, the cruel foe aneared his trembling prey.
Each art the island knew was tried the hallowed house to
save ;
In vain — one night of wind and tide, it sunk beneath the
wave.
Sadly at dawn they gathered there to see the ruin wrought ;
The fearful sight to every heart a painful shudder brought.
The church was gone, the churchyard, too, alas ! all washed
away,
There scattered on the moaning beach, the broken coffins lay ;
Some were still hanging to the bank from which the soil had
slid,
The mouldering skeleton within seen through the shattered
lid ;
