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the spirit's voyage.
THE SPIRIT'S VOYAGE.
"When the child was buried, a little canoe with a sail to it, laden with bread-fruit and cocoas, was sent off from the shore with a fair wind, in order, as they said, to bear the spirit of the dead away from the land of the living"
"They've fill'd with fruit their frail canoe,
With fruit and flowers of brilliant hue,
A blooming freight—but whose the hand
To guide the light thing front the land?
So feathery light,—'twould seem a sin
To trust a fairy's weight within.
The waves are bright,—the skies are fair,—
A balmy blessing is the air,—
Her sail is set,—she glides away!
Where goes the graceful boat to-day?
I hear no voice come o'er the tide;
I see no form the helm beside;
And it might seem a moment's toy,
With fruit and flowers of brilliant hue,
A blooming freight—but whose the hand
To guide the light thing front the land?
So feathery light,—'twould seem a sin
To trust a fairy's weight within.
The waves are bright,—the skies are fair,—
A balmy blessing is the air,—
Her sail is set,—she glides away!
Where goes the graceful boat to-day?
I hear no voice come o'er the tide;
I see no form the helm beside;
And it might seem a moment's toy,
