McGuffey's Fourth Eclectic Reader by William Holmes McGuffey

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6. The buoy of the Inchcape Bell was seen
A darker speck on the ocean green;
Sir Ralph the Rover walked his deck,
And he fixed his eye on the darker speck.

7. He felt the cheering power of spring,
It made him whistle, it made him sing;
His heart was mirthful to excess,
But the Rover's mirth was wickedness.

8. His eye was on the Inchcape float;
Quoth he, "My men put out the boat,
And row me to the Inchcape Rock,
And I'll plague the Abbot of Aberbrothok."

9. The boat is lowered, the boatmen row,
And to the Inchcape Rock they go;
Sir Ralph bent over from the boat,
And he cut the bell from the Inchcape float.

10. Down sunk the bell, with a gurgling sound,
The bubbles rose and burst around;
Quoth Sir Ralph, "The next who comes to the Rock,
Won't bless the Abbot of Aberbrothok."

11. Sir Ralph the Rover sailed away,
He scoured the seas for many a day;
And now grown rich with plundered store,
He steers his course for Scotland's shore.

12. So thick a haze o'erspreads the sky
They can not see the sun on high;
The wind hath blown a gale all day,
At evening it hath died away.

13. On the deck the Rover takes his stand,
So dark it is they see no land.
Quoth Sir Ralph, "It will be lighter soon,
For there is the dawn of the rising moon."

14. "Canst hear," said one, "the breakers roar?
For methinks we should be near the shore."
"Now where we are I can not tell,
But I wish I could hear the Inchcape Bell."

15. They hear no sound, the swell is strong;
Though the wind hath fallen, they drift along,
Till the vessel strikes with a shivering shock:
Cried they, "It is the Inchcape Rock!"

16. Sir Ralph the rover tore his hair,
He curst himself in his despair;
The waves rush in on every side,
The ship is sinking beneath the tide.

17. But even in his dying fear
One dreadful sound could the Rover hear,
A sound as if with the Inchcape Bell
The fiends below were ringing his knell.

DEFINITIONS.--l. Keel, the principal timber in a ship, extending from bow
to stern, at the bottom. 3. Buoy (pro. bwoi) a float-ing mark to point out
the position of rocks, etc., beneath the water. 4. Surge, a large wave. 6.
Joy'ance, gayety. 11. Scoured, roved over, ranged about. Store,
that which is massed together. 14. Me-thinks', it seems to me. 17. Fiends
(pro. fends). evil spirits. Knell (pro. nel), the stroke of a bell rung
at a funeral or at the death of a person.

NOTES.--The above poem was written at Bristol, England, in 1802, and
recounts an old tradition. 2. The Inchcape Rock is at the entrance of the
Frith of Tay, Scotland, about fifteen miles from shore.

LXXXIX. MY MOTHER'S GRAVE. (253)

1. It was thirteen years since my mother's death, when, after a long
absence from my native village, I stood beside the sacred mound beneath
which I had seen her buried. Since that mournful period, a great change
had come over me. My childish years had passed away, and with them my
youthful character. The world was altered, too; and as I stood at my
mother's grave, I could hardly realize that I was the same thoughtless,
happy creature, whose checks she so often kissed in an excess of
tenderness.

2. But the varied events of thirteen years had not effaced the remembrance
of that mother's smile. It seemed as if I had seen her but yesterday--as
if the blessed sound of her well-remembered voice was in my ear. The gay
dreams of my infancy and childhood were brought back so distinctly to my
mind that, had it not been for one bitter recollection, the tears I shed
would have been gentle and refreshing.

3. The circumstance may seem a trifling one, but the thought of it now
pains my heart; and I relate it, that those children who have parents to
love them may learn to value them as they ought. My mother had been ill a
long time, and I had become so accustomed to her pale face and weak voice,
that I was not frightened at them, as children usually are. At first, it
is true, I sobbed violently; but when, day after day, I returned from
school, and found her the same, I began to believe she would always be
spared to me; but they told me she would die.

4. One day when I had lost my place in the class, I came home discouraged
and fretful. I went to my mother's chamber. She was paler than usual, but
she met me with the same affectionate smile that always welcomed my
return. Alas! when I look back through the lapse of thirteen years, I
think my heart must have been stone not to have been melted by it. She
requested me to go downstairs and bring her a glass of water. I pettishly
asked her why she did not call a domestic to do it. With a look of mild
reproach, which I shall never forget if I live to be a hundred years old,
she said, "Will not my daughter bring a glass of water for her poor, sick
mother?"

5. I went and brought her the water, but I did not do it kindly. Instead
of smiling, and kissing her as I had been wont to do, I set the glass down
very quickly, and left the room. After playing a short time, I went to bed
without bidding my mother good night; but when alone in my room, in
darkness and silence, I remembered how pale she looked, and how her voice
trembled when she said, "Will not my daughter bring a glass of water for
her poor, sick mother?" I could not sleep. I stole into her chamber to ask
forgiveness. She had sunk into an easy slumber, and they told me I must
not waken her.

6. I did not tell anyone what troubled me, but stole back to my bed,
resolved to rise early in the morning and tell her how sorry I was for my
conduct. The sun was shining brightly when I awoke, and, hurrying on my
clothes, I hastened to my mother's chamber. She was dead! She never spoke
more--never smiled upon me again; and when I touched the hand that used to
rest upon my head in blessing, it was so cold that it made me start.

7. I bowed down by her side, and sobbed in the bitterness of my heart. I
then wished that I might die, and be buried with her; and, old as I now
am, I would give worlds, were they mine to give, could my mother but have
lived to tell me she forgave my childish ingratitude. But I can not call
her back; and when I stand by her grave, and whenever I think of her
manifold kindness, the memory of that reproachful look she gave me will
bite like a serpent and sting like an adder.

XC. A MOTHER'S GIFT-THE BIBLE. (255)

1. Remember, love, who gave thee this,
When other days shall come,
When she who had thine earliest kiss,
Sleeps in her narrow home.
Remember! 'twas a mother gave
The gift to one she'd die to save!

2. That mother sought a pledge of love,
The holiest for her son,
And from the gifts of God above,
She chose a goodly one;
She chose for her beloved boy,
The source of light, and life, and joy.

3. She bade him keep the gift, that, when
The parting hour should come,
They might have hope to meet again
In an eternal home.
She said his faith in this would be
Sweet incense to her memory.

4. And should the scoffer, in his pride,
Laugh that fond faith to scorn,
And bid him cast the pledge aside,
That he from youth had borne,
She bade him pause, and ask his breast
If SHE or HE had loved him best.

5. A parent's blessing on her son
Goes with this holy thing;
The love that would retain the one,
Must to the other cling.
Remember! 'tis no idle toy:
A mother's gift! remember, boy.

DEFINITIONS.--2. Pledge, proof, evidence. 3. In'cense, some-thing offered
in honor of anyone. Faith, belief 4. Scoff'er, one who laughs at what is
good.

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