432 THE INHABITANTS OF THE SEA. 



wondrous ballad of " The ancient Mariner " we find a warmer 

 description : 



" Beyond the shadow of the ship 



I watch'd the water-snakes : 

 They moved in tracks of shining white, 

 And, when they rear'd, the elfish light 



Fell off in hoary flakes. 



" Within the shadow of the ship 



I watch'd their rich attire — 

 Blue, glossy green, and velvet black : 

 They coiled and swam, and eveiy track 



Was a flash of golden fire." 



These indeed are lines whose brilliancy emulates the splendour 

 of the phenomenon they depict, but even they are hardly more 

 beautiful than Crabbe's admirable description : 



" And now your view upon the ocean turn, 

 And there the splendour of the waves discern ; 

 Cast but a stone, or strike them with an oar, 

 And you shall flames within the deep explore ; 

 Or scoop the stream phosphoric as you stand, 

 And the cold flames shall flash along your hand ; 

 When, lost in wonder, you shall walk and gaze 

 On weeds that sparkle, and on waves that blaze." 



Or than the graphic numbers of Sir Walter Scott : 



" Awak'd before the rushing prow, 

 The mimic fires of ocean glow, 



Those lightnings of the wave ; 

 Wild sparkles crest the broken tides. 

 And flashing round, the vessel's sides 



With elfish lustre lave; 

 While, far behind, their livid light 

 To the dark billows of the nicht 



A blooming splendour gave." 



