If to the main-mast head I go,

The Wicked One is there;

From place to place, from rope to rope, He follows every where.

I shut my eyes..it matters not..
Still, still the same I see,..
And when I lie me down at night,
'Tis always day with me!

He follows, follows every where,
And every place is Hell!
O God.. and I must go with Him
In endless fire to dwell!

He follows, follows every where,
He's still above.. below!

Oh, tell me where to fly from him!
Oh, tell me where to go!"

"But tell thou,” quoth the stranger then,

What this thy crime hath been,

So haply I may comfort give
To one who grieves for sin."

"O cursed, cursed is the deed!"
The wretched man replies,
"And night and day and every

where

'Tis still before my eyes.

I sail'd on board a Guinea-man,

And to the slave-coast went; .. Would that the sea had swallow'd me When I was innocent!

And we took in our cargo there,
Three hundred negro slaves,
And we sail'd homeward merrily
Over the ocean-waves.

But some were sulky of the slaves,
And would not touch their meat,
So therefore we were forced by threats
And blows to make them eat.

One woman, sulkier than the rest,
Would still refuse her food,...
O Jesus God! I hear her cries!
I see her in her blood!

The captain made me tie her up,
And flog while he stood by ;
And then he cursed me if I staid
My hand to hear her cry.

She shriek'd, she groan'd,.. I could not spare, For the Captain he stood by ;...

Dear God! that I might rest one night

From that poor creature's cry!

What woman's child a sight like that
Could bear to look upon!

And still the Captain would not spare..
But made me still flog on.

She could not be more glad than I
When she was taken down :
A blessed minute!..'t was the last
That I have ever known!

I did not close my eyes all night,
Thinking what I had done;

I heard her groans, and they grew faint
Towards the rising sun.

She groan'd and moan'd, but her voice grew

Fainter at morning tide;

Fainter and fainter still it came

Until at noon she died.

They flung her overboard; .. poor wretch
She rested from her pain,..

But when..O Christ! O blessed God!
Shall I have rest again!

I saw the sea close over her,
Yet she is still in sight;

I see her twisting every where;
I hear her day and night.

VOL. II.

Go where I will, do what I can,

The Wicked One I see:

Dear Christ, have mercy on my soul ! O God, deliver me!

Oh give me comfort, if you can!
Oh tell me where to fly!
Oh tell me if there can be hope
For one so lost as I!"

What said the Minister of Christ?
He bade him trust in Heaven,
And call on Him for whose dear sake
All sins shall be forgiven.

He told him of that precious blood Which should his guilt efface; Told him that none are lost, but they Who turn from proffer'd grace.

He bade him pray, and knelt with him,

And join'd him in his

prayers:. And some who read the dreadful tale

Perhaps will aid with theirs.

Westbury, 1798.

VERSES

SPOKEN IN THE THEATRE AT OXFORD,

UPON THE

INSTALLATION OF LORD GRENVILLE.

GRENVILLE, few years have had their course, since last
Exulting Oxford view'd a spectacle

Like this day's pomp ; and yet to those who throng'd
These walls, which echo'd then with Portland's praise,
What change hath intervened! The bloom of spring
Is fled from many a cheek, where roseate joy
And beauty bloom'd; the inexorable Grave
Hath claim'd its portion; and the band of youths,
Who then, collected here as in a port

From whence to launch on life's adventurous sea,
Stood on the beach, ere this have found their lots
Of good or evil. Thus the lapse of years,
Evolving all things in its quiet course,

Hath wrought for them; and though those years have
Fearful vicissitudes, of wilder change

Than history yet had learnt, or old romance
In wildest mood imagined, yet these too,
Portentous as they seem, not less have risen

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