Page:The Poems of John Dyer (1903).djvu/127

By the Antarctic circle ; nor beyond
Those sea-wrapt gardens of the dulcet reed,
Bahama and Caribbee, may be found
Safe mole or harbour, till on Falkland's Isle
The standard of Britannia shall arise. 590
Proud Buenos Aires, low-couched Paraguay,
And rough Corrientes, mark, with hostile eye,
The labouring vessel : neither may we trust
The dreary naked Patagonian land,
Which darkens in the wind : no traffic there, 595
No barter, for the Fleece : there angry storms,
Bend their black brows, and, raging, hurl around
Their thunders. Ye adventurous Mariners !
Be firm ; take courage from the brave : 't was there
Perils and conflicts inexpressible 600
Anson, with steady undespairing breast,
Endur'd, when o'er the various globe he chas'd
His country's foes. Fast-gathering tempests rouz'd
Huge ocean, and involv'd him : all around
Whirlwind, and snow, and hail, and horror : now, 605
Rapidly, with the world of waters, down
Descending to the channels of the deep,
He viewvv'd th' uncover'd bottom of th' abyss,
And now the stars, upon the loftiest point
Toss'd of the sky-mix'd surges. Oft the burst 610
Of loudest thunder, with the dash of seas,
Tore the wild-flying sails and tumbling masts,
While flames, thick-flashing in the gloom, reveal'd
Ruins of decks, and shrouds, and sights of death.
Yet on he far'd, with fortitude his cheer, 615
Gaining, at intervals, slow way beneath
Del Fuego's rugged cliffs, and the white ridge
Above all height, by opening clouds reveal'd,
Of Montegorda, and inaccessible
Wreck-threatening Staten Land's o'erhanging shore, 620