A VOYAGE IN THE DARK 



Through his undimmed eyes I had 

 glimpses of those happy shores whereon 

 the sun always shines and no cloud 

 arises beyond. What a little way be- 

 hind they seem in the voyage that has 

 grown wearisome, and yet we can never 

 revisit them for a day nor for an hour, 

 and it is like a dream that we ever dwelt 

 there. 



Bearing with us from this port some- 

 thing not marketable nor even visible, 

 yet worth carrying home, we reem- 

 barked, and the wind, blowing in my 

 face, informed me we were homeward 

 bound. One after another, we passed 

 five boats of fishing parties tied up at as 

 many stakes, the crews pursuing their 

 pastime with steadfast patience, as their 

 intent silence proclaimed. To me they 

 were as ships passed in the night. I 

 had no other knowledge of them than 

 this, except that my friend told me there 

 was a fat woman in each boat, and that 

 one of them boasted to us, with motherly 

 pride, of a big pickerel caught by her 

 little girl. 



A blended hum of bumblebees droned 

 in among us, and my companions re- 



12S 



