re-sem'-ble (re-zěm'-b'l)—to be like or similar to. o-pin'-ion (yun)—what one thinks or believes about something. scope-range or extent of view or action. Robert Southey (1774-1843) was an English poet. For a time he was Poet Laureate of England. 1 No stir in the air, no stir in the sea, The ship was still as she could be; Her sails from Heaven received no motion; Her keel was steady in the ocean. 2 Without either sign or sound of their shock, 3 The holy Abbot of Aberbrothok Had placed that bell on the Inchcape Rock; 4 When the rock was hid by the surge's swell, And blessed the Abbot of Aberbrothok. 5 The sun in heaven was shining gay; All things were joyful on that day; The sea-birds screamed as they wheeled round, 6 The buoy of the Inchcape Bell was seen He felt the cheering power of spring, But the Rover's mirth was wickedness. 8 His eye was on the Inchcape float; And I'll plague the priest of Aberbrothok." 9 The boat is lowered, the boatmen row, Sir Ralph bent over from the boat, And he cut the bell from the Inchcape float. 10 Down sank 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, 12 So thick a haze o'erspreads the sky, 13 On the deck the Rover takes his stand; Quoth Sir Ralph, "It will be brighter soon, 14 "Canst hear," said one, "the breakers roar? But I wish I could hear the Inchcape Bell." 15 They hear no sound; the swell is strong; HELPS TO STUDY Historical: Bell Rock, or Inchcape, is a reef of red sandstone rocks near the Frith of Tay, on the coast of Scotland. At the time of the spring tides part of the reef is uncovered to the height of four feet. Because so many vessels were wrecked upon these rocks, the Abbot of Aberbrothok is said to have placed a bell there, "fixed upon a tree or timber, which rang continually, being moved by the A lighthouse, 115 feet high, one of the finest in Great Britain, is now built upon the reef. Notes and Questions What picture do you see when you read the first stanza? The second stanza? What "warning" did the bell give to sailors? Read the line which tells how sailors felt toward the Abbot. Read lines which tell how happy all things were on the day on which the story begins. What effect did the air of spring have upon Sir Ralph? What was the only kind of mirth which he knew? Read what James Russell Lowell thinks is the effect spring should have upon people: ""Tis as easy now for the heart to be true As for grass to be green or skies to be blue,— 'Tis the natural way of living." What reason did Sir Ralph give to his sailors for wanting to cut the warning bell from the Inchcape Rock? Where did he go after doing this? What words tell you that he was away a long time? What two words in the poem tell you that Sir Ralph was & robber? What do we call men who do this? Whom did he rob? To what coast did Sir Ralph at last return? Why could not the sailors see the land? What did they long to hear! Do you think the vessel would have been safe if Sir Ralph had not sunk the bell? What do you think happened after the vessel struck the Inchcape Rock? warn'-ing—caution against danger or against faults. mirth'-ful (mûrth)-full of merriment or gayety. |