...Obscurest night involv'd the sky, Th' Atlantic billows roar'd, When such a destin'd wretch as I, Wash'd headlong from on board, Of friends, of hope, of all bereft, His floating home for ever left. No braver chief could Albion boast Than he with whom he went, Nor ever ship left Albion's coast, With...

...shine of the flameless fire, was pacing to and fro, murmuring to herself fragments of well-remembered poetry. She spoke very low, but Shirley heard her;...somewhat full and thrilling, had become delicately faint. 352 'Go on,' said she. 'Then you go on, too. I was only repeating The Castaway.' 'I know: if you can...

...Obscurest night involved the sky, Th' Atlantic billows roar'd, When such a destin'd wretch as I Wash'd headlong from on board Of friends, of hope, of all bereft, His floating home for ever left. The lines, along with The Castaway in general, are often seen as spontaneously emerging from Cowper's...