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CANTO II
II.
The twain Nahants lie side by side,
In one harmonious union blent ;
The
matchless bridegroom and the bride –
One soul, one sentiment ;
United still through tempest, change and calm,
They pass from age to age, bound arm in arm.
III.
Still on that ocean couch sublime,
Beneath their azure coverlet,
Soft gliding down the tide of time,
They sweetly slumber yet.
O, that in such celestial scene as this,
Man’s soul should sink to deeds of wickedness !
. . .
CANTO IV
XVII.
The boat lies waiting on the shore,
Her prow impatient to the deep
“ Fair daughter of the Sagamore,
Blest are the eyes that weep !”
Low speaks the youth ! “Ya-wa-ta, fare thee well!
This gift from Christopher and Arabel. ”
XVIII.
“The Indian girl cares not for gold ;”
Ya-wa-ta said, “ but I would be
Remembered, when the waves have rolled
You far beyond the sea !
Know that the child of Na-na-pas-he-met,
If still she live, loves and remembers yet!”
XIX.
“ Have we no token then for thee,
Of grateful hearts and sad farewell ? ” –
“ That wondrous locket might I see,
Nor wrong thee, Arabel ” –
Sweet friend, thine shall the golden locket be,
Nor dearer gift, though small, couldst ask of me”
XX.
In tender, silent eloquence,
They parted by the “ Swallows’ Cave. ”
The sails, unfurled, are wafting thence
That Cruiser of the wave.
Ya-wa-ta’s dream of bliss dissolves away ;
Her sun goes down, and darkness ends the day!
XXI.
Long gazing stood she by the cave ;
Stood gazing, till her eye grew dim,
On one who bore upon the wave
Her heart away with him –
Till lost to view. – When lo ! refracted high
The parting ship rides proudly through the sky !
XXII.
A sail above , a sail below –
The thought, the thing, – a double sea
Like soul and body, onward go !
Which was reality ?
The one, perchance, sank buried in the wave ;
The other rose – to find a phantom grave !
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