Farewell to the Boat
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Ebbutt, M. I. (Maud Isabel)
“‘Boat,’ quoth he, ‘which hast borne me on my way, Have thou good days beside a summer sea! May never wave prevail to sink thee deep! Go, little boat, and when thou comest home Greet well my mother, mournful Queen Godhild; Tell her, frail skiff, her dear son Horn is safe. Greet, too, the pagan lord, Mahomet’s thrall, The bitter enemy of Jesus Christ, And bid him know that I am safe and well. Say I have reached a land beyond the sea, Whence, in God’s own good time, I will return Then he shall feel my vengeance for my sire.’”
Then sorrowfully he pushed the boat out into the ocean, and the ebbing tide bore it away, while Horn and his companions set their faces resolutely towards the town they could see in the distance.