Chapter XV

A stormy change in the weather occurs: the winds "roar from yonder dropping day," that is, from the west, into which the daylight is sinking. And all the sights and sounds of tempest alarm him for the safety of the ship, and

"But for fancies which aver
That all thy motions gently pass
Athwart a plane of molten glass,[15]
I scarce could brook the strain and stir
That makes the barren branches loud."

Yet, in fear that it may not be so--the sea calm and the wind still--"the wild unrest" would lead him to "dote and pore on" the threatening cloud, and the fiery sunset.