He robs not man of rest or food,

And all that he asks is quietude;

To be left by him, as a worthless stone,

Under the dry hedge-bank alone!

Poor little English porcupine,

What a troubled and weary life is thine!
I would that my pity thy foes could quell,
For thou art ill-used, and meanest well!

OH, the white Sea-gull, the wild Sea-gull,

A joyful bird is he,

As he lies like a cradled thing at rest

In the arms of a sunny sea!

The little waves rock to and fro,

And the white Gull lies asleep,

As the fisher's bark, with breeze and tide,
Goes merrily over the deep.

The ship, with her fair sails set, goes by,

And her people stand to note

How the Sea-gull sits on the rocking waves,

As if in an anchored boat.

The sea is fresh, the sea is fair,

And the sky calm overhead,

And the Sea-gull lies on the deep, deep sea,

Like a king in his royal bed!

Oh, the white Sea-gull, the bold Sea-gull,
A joyful bird is he,

Throned like a king, in calm repose

On the breast of the heaving sea!

The waves leap up, the wild wind blows,
And the Gulls together crowd,

And wheel about, and madly scream
To the deep sea roaring loud.
And let the sea roar ever so loud,
And the winds pipe ever so high,
With a wilder joy the bold Sea-gull
Sends forth a wilder cry,—

For the Sea-gull he is a daring bird,

And he loves with the storm to sail; To ride in the strength of the billowy sea, And to breast the driving gale!

The little boat she is tossed about,

Like a sea-weed, to and fro;

The tall ship reels like a drunken man,

As the gusty tempests blow.

But the Sea-gull laughs at the fear of man,

And sails in a wild delight

On the torn-up breast of the night-black sea, Like a foam-cloud, calm and white.

The waves may rage and the winds may roar, But he fears not wreck nor need;

For he rides the sea, in its stormy strength, As a strong man rides his steed!

Oh, the white Sea-gull, the bold Sea-gull !

He makes on the shore his nest,

And he tries what the inland fields may be;

But he loveth the sea the best!

And away from land a thousand leagues,

He goes 'mid surging foam;

What matter to him is land or shore,

For the sea is his truest home!

And away to the north, 'mid ice-rocks stern,

And amid the frozen snow,

To a sea that is lone and desolate,

Will the wanton Sea-gull go.

For he careth not for the winter wild,

Nor those desert regions chill;

In the midst of the cold, as on calm blue seas,

The Sea-gull hath his will!

And the dead whale lies on the northern shores,

And the seal, and the sea-horse grim,

And the death of the great sea-creatures makes
A full, merry feast for him!

Oh, the wild Sea-gull, the bold Sea-gull !
As he screams in his wheeling flight:
As he sits on the waves in storm or calm,
All cometh to him aright!

All cometh to him as he liketh best;

Nor any his will gainsay;

And he rides on the waves like a bold, young king,

That was crowned but yesterday!