Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1837-07-26


y individual, whose sight remained unaffe
ould also be seized with the malady, q sail
u was the Spanish SLAYER, lie,
q ssms disease had been there; and hol
tell, ell the crew had become blind! Vi
assist each other, the vessels parted.
anish ship has never since been heard
Q Rodeu, reached Gaudaloupe on the 81
ne; the only man who had escaped the dis
I had thus been enabled TO steer the 6
o port, caught Il In three days AFTER its ar
bIiofks Opth0naLtniqse for Nov. 1919.
IAN ready 2 cried the captain;
'ky, Ayr the sesmsn said
sHeave up the worthless lubbers,
Ths dying and the dead
Up from fhe slave-ship's prison
Fierce, bearded heads were thrust
Nov let the SHARK. look to it
Toss up the dead ones first!'
Corpse alter corpse came up
Death had been busy there,
Where every blow Is mercy,
Why should the sp0iler spare7
Corpse after corpse they cast
Sullenly from the ship,
Yet bloody with the traces
offsiter-link and whip.
Gloomily stDod the captain,
whhkis aims upon bis breast,
Win hrs cold brow sternly knott ed,
/. And bis iron lip COMPRESSED
Are al the dead dogs over 2
Growled through that matted lip
. The blind ones are no better.
AZ Lsts tighten the good ship
Harkl from the ships dark bosom.
Toe very sounds Of he'll!
The ringing cIank Of Iron
The MANAGES short, sharp YELL
The hoarse, low curse, throat stfled-
The starving infAnt's moan
The horror Of q broken heart
Poutd through mothers gToan!
Up from that loathsOme, prison
The stricken blind ones come
Below had all been darkness
Above was still the same.
Yet the holy breath Of Heaven
Was sweetly breathing there,
And the heated brow OF fever
. Cooled IN the son sea-air.
,,Overboard with them, shipmates!.'
Cutlass and dirk were piled;
Tetiesa and blind, one after one,
Plunged down The vessels side.
The sabre smote above
Beneath theleaD shark lay,
Waiting with wide and bloody jaw
His quick and human prey.
God ofihe esrthI what cries
Rang upward unto Theel
Voices Of agony and blood,
d From ship-deck and from sea.
The lastdull plunge was heard
The IsFt ways caught Its stain
And The nnssted shark look'd up
pa For human hearts In vain.
~ F"
Rad glowed the western waters
TIE setting sun was there,
Scaltering alike on wave and cloud
HIS fiery mesh Of heir,
Amidst groupin blindness
"A solitary eye -......
Gazed, from the burden'd slaver's deck,
Into that burning sky.
"A storm, smoke out the gazer,
II gathering and at hand
Curse on't--Td give my other eve
For one firm rod Of IandL'
And then he laugh 'd-but only
His echoed laugh replied
For the blinded and the suffering
Alone Were st his side.
Night settled on the waters,
And on stormy heaven,
While fiercely on that lone ships track
3 The thunder gust was driven.
A sail.--thank God! a saiIP
Add, a. the helmsman spoke.
Up through the stormy murmur,
A shout Of gladness broke.
Down came the stranger vessel
Unheeding, on her way,
So near, that on the slaver's deck
Rell OF her driven spray
Ho! for the love Of mercy
Were penshing and blindv
Z "A wall Of utter agony
Came back upon the wind.
Help Us! for We are stricken
With blindness every one
Ten days we've Aoated fearfulIy,
Unnoting star or sun.
Our shlp's the SLAYER Leon
We've but score on board
Our slaves are al gone over
Help Tor the love Of Godp
On livid brows Of agony
. The broad red lightning shone
But the roar OF wind and thunder
Il StiAed the answering groan,
valid from the broken waters
A last despairing cry,
A. kindling In the stormy light,
The stranger ship went 81.
In the sunny GaudaIOupe
A dark hull'd vessel lay
I With crew who noted never
The night-fhll a. ne day.
The blossom of the orange
Waved white by every stream,
And tropic leaf. and flower, asd bird
Were N Me warm sup-beam.
And III ~ was brirht q ever,
And he moonlight slept - vel.
On The Palm-,ress By ire HILLSIDE,
And uhs streamlef Of the dell.
Ard he glancss az he Creole
We're sti|I = srchly deep.
And her nniIo = ever
Ofpapion and q slssp.
Bui vain were bird and 6Iop,om,
Ihs psen earth and Ne sty,
And the smils OF humsn fAcss,
To the ever dsrksnd eye;
For. smidsl word Of bssuty, "a
: The SLAYER went abrosd, &C..
win ~ ghssily visags written
By the awful curse OF God!