The Nautilus

The Nautilus ever loves to glide
Upon the crest of the radiant tide.
When the sky is clear and the wave is bright,
Look over the sea for a lovely sight!
You may watch, and watch for many a mile,
And never see Nautilus all the while,
Till, just as your patience is nearly lost,
Lo! there is a bark in the sunlight toss'd!
"Sail ho! and whither away so fast V
What a curious thing she has rigg'd for a mast!
"Ahoy! ahoy '. don't you hear our hail V
How the breeze is swelling her gossamer sail!
The good ship Nautilus — yes, 't is she!
Sailing over the gold of the placid sea;
And though she will never deign reply,
I could tell her hull with the glance of an eye.
Now, I wonder where Nautilus can be bound;
Or does she always sail round and round,
With the fairy queen and her court on board,
And mariner-sprites, a glittering horde?
Does she roam and roam till the evening light?
And where does she go in the deep midnight?
So crazy a vessel could hardly sail,
Or weather the blow of "a fine, stiff gale."
O, the selfsame hand that holds the chain
Which the ocean binds to the rocky main —
Which guards from the wreck when the tempest raves,
And the stout ship reels on the surging waves —
Directs the course of thy little bark,
And in the light or the shadow dark,
And near the shore or far at sea,
Makes safe a billowy path for thee!