oh for a second maiden, at least,
To bear the flagon, and taste it too,
And flavour the feast. 300

Lagging he moved, and apt to swerve;
Lazy of limb, but quick of nerve.
At length the water-bed took a curve,
The deep river swept its bankside bare;
Waters streamed from the hill-reserve--
Waters here, waters there.

High above, and deep below,
Bursting, bubbling, swelling the flow,
Like hill torrents after the snow,--
Bubbling, gurgling, in whirling strife, 310
Swaying, sweeping, to and fro,--
He must swim for his life.

Which way?--which way?--his eyes grew dim
With the dizzying whirl--which way to swim?
The thunderous downshoot deafened him;
Half he choked in the lashing spray:
Life is sweet, and the grave is grim--
Which way?--which way?

A flash of light, a shout from the strand:
'This way--this way; here lies the land!' 320
His phial clutched in one drowning hand;
He catches--misses--catches a rope;
His feet slip on the slipping sand:
Is there life?--is there hope?

Just saved, without pulse or breath,--
Scarcely saved from the gulp of death;
Laid where a willow shadoweth--
Laid where a swelling turf is smooth.
(O Bride! but the Bridegroom lingereth
For all thy sweet youth.) 330

Kind hands do and undo,
Kind voices whisper and coo:
'I will chafe his hands'--'And I'--'And you
Raise his head, put his hair aside.'
(If many laugh, one well may rue:
Sleep on, thou Bride.)

So the Prince was tended with care:
One wrung foul ooze from his clustered hair;
Two chafed his hands, and did not spare;
But one held his drooping head breast-high, 340
Till his eyes oped, and at unaware
They met eye to eye.

Oh, a moon face in a shadowy place,
And a light touch and a winsome grace,
And a thrilling tender voice that says:
'Safe from waters that seek the sea--
Cold waters by rugged ways--
Safe with me.'

While overhead bird whistles to bird,
And round about plays a gamesome herd: 350
'Safe with us'--some take up the word--
'Safe with us, dear lord and friend:
All the sweeter if long deferred
Is rest in the end.'

Had he stayed to weigh and to scan,
He had been more or less than a man:
He did what a young man can,
Spoke of toil and an arduous way--
Toil to-morrow, while golden