THE CULPRIT FAY. The water-sprites will wield their arms, If thy heart be pure and thy spirit right, IX. "If the spray-bead gem be won, The stain of thy wing is washed away, But another errand must be done Ere thy crime be lost for aye; Thy flame-wood lamp is quenched and dark, Thou must reillume its spark. Mount thy steed and spur him high To the heaven's blue canopy; And when thou seest a shooting star, The last faint spark of its burning train Hence! to the water-side, away!" 25 26 THE CULPRIT FAY. X. The goblin marked his monarch well; And turned him round in act to go. His soiled wing has lost its power, Where toils the ant and sleeps the snake; He skips along in lightsome mood; And now he thrids the bramble-bush, Till its points are died in fairy blood. He has leaped the bog, he has pierced the briar, For rugged and dim was his onward track, And he laughed as he jumped upon her back; He bridled her mouth with a silkweed twist, He lashed her sides with an osier thong; THE CULPRIT FAY. And now through evening's dewy mist, With leap and spring they bound along, Till the mountain's magic verge is past, And the beach of sand is reached at last. XI. Soft and pale is the moony beam, In murmurings faint and distant moans; Is heard the splash of the sturgeon's leap, And dripping with gems of the river dew. XII. The elfin cast a glance around, As he lighted down from his courser toad, Then round his breast his wings he wound, And close to the river's brink he strode; He sprang on a rock, he breathed a prayer, Above his head his arms he threw, 27 28 THE CULPRIT FAY. Then tossed a tiny curve in air, And headlong plunged in the waters blue. XIII. Up sprung the spirits of the waves, From sea-silk beds in their coral caves, With snail-plate armour snatched in haste, They speed their way through the liquid waste; On the mailed shrimp or the prickly prong, Some on the stony star-fish ride, Some on the back of the lancing squab, Fearlessly he skims along, XIV. His hope is high, and his limbs are strong, : THE CULPRIT FAY. His locks of gold on the waters shine, At his breast the tiny foam-beads rise, His back gleams bright above the brine, And the wake-line foam behind him lies. But the water-sprites are gathering near To check his course along the tide; Their warriors come in swift career 29 And hem him round on every side; * The quarl's long arms are round him rolled, The prickly prong has pierced his skin, The gritty star has rubbed him raw, And the crab has struck with his giant claw; Fairy! nought is left but flight. XV. He turned him round and fled amain With hurry and dash to the beach again, |