And the undiscovered deep; I could not eat nor sleep For thinking of those seas. "To the northward stretched the desert, How far I fain would know; So at last I sallied forth, "To the west of me was the ocean, To the right the desolate shore, But I did not slacken sail For the walrus or the whale, Till after three days more. "The days grew longer and longer, And southward through the haze Of the red midnight sun. "And then uprose before me, "The sea was rough and stormy, "Four days I steered to eastward, Four days without a night: Round in a fiery ring Went the great sun, O King, With red and lurid light." Here Alfred, King of the Saxons, Ceased writing for a while; And raised his eyes from his book, With a strange and puzzled look, And an incredulous smile. But Othere, the old sea-captain, And wrote down every word. "And now the land," said Othere, "Bent southward suddenly, And I followed the curving shore And ever southward bore Into a nameless sea. "And there we hunted the walrus, The narwhale, and the seal; Ha! 't was a noble game! Flew our harpoons of steel. "There were six of us all together, Norsemen of Helgoland; In two days and no more We killed of them threescore, And dragged them to the strand!" Here Alfred the Truth-Teller Suddenly closed his book, And lifted his blue eyes, And Othere the old sea-captain And to the King of the Saxons, In witness of the truth, |