1 minute read
by Helen Cartwright McCleary
THE OLD HOME PORT
By Helen Cartwright McCleary
SCENE I 1659
A tiny shallop, tossing on the Sound, Beaten and buffeted by wind and tide. A sturdy figure, bending at the helm, Breast-forward, as the seas dash o'er the bows. A woman at his feet, with terror-stricken face, Beseeching hands clasped tightly in despair, — "Good husband, spare thy children, spare thy wife! We fear the storm-wind and the cruel waves; Have mercy! put thy boat about, and speed, 0 speed us, safely home again."
But Goodman Macy, with unflinching gaze Fixed steady on the horizon's mystic line, Speaks sternly: "Woman, go below and seek thy God; For I fear naught on earth, nor yet in Hell. See'st thou yon curving shore, low-lying to the south? Yonder I steer my course; yonder my haven lies; Naught shall deter me, naught shall turn me back, Till on Nantucket's desert sands, Free from oppression's iron rule, 1 make, for me and mine, a new home-port.
SCENE II 1853
A clipper-ship, full rigged, her owner's pride! See how she balances upon the main, Light as a fairy, graceful as a girl! From jib to tops'l, all sail set, white-winged she flies, Like to a sea-gull, floating free, Its buoyant body borne before the breeze. How daintily she dips her slender prow Beneath the sparkling waves, the while She beckons to the winds that blow, — Fair winds that fling her billowy canvas wide And send her scudding on her homeward way, A thing of beauty, for all men to see!
Her master, lost in thought, paces the quarter-deck; In fancy, sees his Nancy on the house-top walk, Waiting and watching for the distant sail, Straining her eager gaze to sight the ship That brings teas and silks and spices from Cathay.
What now? - the look-out from aloft sings out,
