The Knickerbocker, Vol. 10, No. 3, September 1837Various
History
The Knickerbocker, Vol. 10, No. 3, September 1837
Various
Periodicals
This is a specimen of one class of miseries to which editors are
subject. They rack their weary brains for subjects; and when they
dissect them properly, it frequently happens that some subscriber,
who fancies himself aggrieved, says, with poor Dennis the critic,
'That means _me_!'--and forthwith sends in a peremptory order to have
'his paper discontinued.' And thus the editor not only loses some
one's friendship, but, what is of more importance, his subscription.
Subscribers! one word to you. Support your editor through his
difficulties; and whatever else you neglect, be sure you do not
forget to pay for your intellectual provant; that is, if you would
pass decently through this world, and reach heaven at last!
THE SEA-ROVER.
'O'ER the glad waters of the dark blue sea,
Our thoughts as boundless, and our souls as free,
Far as the breeze can bear, the billows foam,
Survey our empire, and behold our home!'
* * * * *
I HAVE no ties to bind me
To any spot on earth;
I leave no love behind me,
No warm familiar hearth;
But I roam with the changeful wind
Upon the changeful sea,
Mid isles that shed their fragrance forth
Like the blessed Araby;
And in the deep and cloudless night,
We watch each dewy star,
And our fancies rove through that shadowy light,
Where the gentle spirits are:
Nor while upon the deep
We wander far and free,
Are we mariners without
Our own wild minstrelsy;
And the night-breeze seems to catch the song,
And bear it on its wing:
And the laughing waves seem to echo far
The voice of our carolling:
And then we see the unwelcome shark
Gliding beneath our lee;
Gently he looketh up, but we
Trust not his love of harmony;
Strange playful fish are gambolling
Around our white-winged bark,
All harmless, gladsome things are they,
Except that soft-eyed shark.
When the foam, torn from the billow,
Flies furious and fast,
And the good mast, like a sapling,
Bends to the mighty blast,
With steady heart and ready arm,
Fearless, unmoved, we stand--
(Our bright bow flashing through the sea,)
My own, my gallant band!
O! who would be a man
Fettered, instead of free!
A sluggard at his hearth,
With a bantling on his knee!
While there are seas to pass,
While there are winds to blow,
O! who would be content
With tales of long ago!
While there is knowledge waiting,
As fruit upon a tree,
Which we for others gather,
Over the mystic sea!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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