It was the schooner Hesperus
That sailed the wintry sea；
And the skipper had taken his little daughter To bear him company.
Blue were her eyes as the fairy flax， Her cheeks like the dawn of day，And her bosom was white as the hawthorn buds That ope in the month of May.
The skipper， he stood beside the helm， His pipe was in his mouth；And he watched how the veering flaw did blow The smoke now west， now south.
Then up and spake an old sailor， Had sailed the Spanish Main：
"I pray thee， put into yonder port， For I fear a hurricane.
"Last night， the moon had a golden ring， And， to-night， no moon we see ！"The skipper， he blew a whiff from his pipe， And a scornful laugh laughed he.
Colder and louder blew the wind， A gale from the north-east；The snow fell hissing in the brine， And the billows frothed like yeast.
Down came the storm， and smote amain The vessel in its strength；She shuddered and paused， like a frightened steed，Then leaped her cable"s length.
"Come hither！ come hither！ my little daughter， And do not tremble so；For I can weather the roughest gale That ever wind did blow."He wrapped her warm in his seaman"s coat Against the stinging blast；He cut a rope from a broken spar， And bound her to the mast.
"O father ！ I hear the church-bells ring； Oh say what may it be？"""Tis a fog-bell on a rock-bound coast！-" And he steered for the open sea.
"O father ！ I hear the sound of guns； Oh say what may it be？""Some ship in distress that cannot live In such an angry sea.""O father！ I see a gleaming light； Oh say what may it be？"But the father answered never a word- A frozen corpse was he，Lashed to the helm， all stiff and stark， With his face turned to the skies.
The lantern gleamed through the gleaming snow On his fixed and glassy eyes.
Then the maiden clasped her hands and prayed That savèd she might be；And she thought of Christ， who stilled the waves On the Lake of Galilee.
And fast through the midnight dark and drear， Through the whistling sleet and snow，Like a sheeted ghost， the vessel swept Towards the reef of Norman"s Woe.
And ever， the fitful gusts between， A sound came from the land；It was the sound of the trampling surf On the rocks and the hard sea-sand.
The breakers were right beneath her bows， She drifted a dreary wreck，And a whooping billow swept the crew Like icicles from her deck.
She struck where the white and fleecy waves Looked soft as carded wool，But the cruel rocks， they gored her side Like the horns of an angry bull.
Her rattling shrouds， all sheathed in ice， With the masts， went by the board：
Like a vessel of glass， she stove and sank.
Ho！ ho！ the breakers roared.
At daybreak， on the bleak sea-beach， A fisherman stood aghastTo see the form of a maiden fair Lashed close to a drifting mast.
The salt sea was frozen on her breast， The salt tears in her eyes；And he saw her hair， like the brown seaweed， On the billows fall and rise.
Such was the wreck of the Hesperus， In the midnight and the snow；Christ save us all from a death like this， On the reef of Norman"s Woe！
-Henry WadsWorth LonGFelloW
About the Author.-Henry WadsWorth LonGFFlloW (1807-1882) was born in the State of Maine， U.S.A.， and educated at Bowdoin College. He was very good at languages， and was sent for three years to France， Spain， Italy， and Germany. After his return he became Professor of Modern Languages and Literature at Harvard College， Boston. He wrote many very simple and beautiful poems， and is an especial favourite with children. Among the longer ones are Hiawatha， Evangeline， The Courtship of Miles Standish， The Golden Legend， Tales of a Wayside Inn.
About the.-Who are the people in the poem？ Find verses that describe each. What signs gave warning of the coming storm？ What were the girl"s three questions？
