human
What riseth slow from the ocean caves And the stormy surf? The phantom pale sets his blackened foot On the fresh green turf.
gpt
You asked to see your friend, Francis Villiers, who was drowned, three years ago, off the coast of South America--what do you see?
human
I see, replied the student,
gpt
Are you afraid?
human
I am not,
gpt
And the phantom white, whose clay-cold face Was once so fair, Dries with his shroud his clinging vest And his sea-tossed hair.
human
You, who would see revealed the mysteries of the tomb--what do you see now?
gpt
I see the cloud taking the form of a phantom; its head is covered with a long vail--it stands still.
human
Are you afraid?
gpt
I am not.
human
And the phantom said, as he rose from the wave, He shall know me in sooth! I will go to my friend, gay, smiling, and fond, As in our first youth!
gpt
What do you see?
human
I see the phantom advance; he lifts his vail--'tis Francis Villiers!--he approaches the table--he writes!--'tis his signature!
gpt
Are you afraid?
human
I am not.
gpt
And the phantom said to the mocking seer, I come from the South; Put thy hand on my hand--thy heart on my heart-- Thy mouth on my mouth!
human
What do you see?
gpt
He comes--he approaches--he pursues me--he is stretching out his arms--he will have me! Help! help! Save me!
human
Are you afraid _now_?
gpt
Help that rash youth! said the merchant, bitterly.
human
I have, I think, won the wager; but it is sufficient for me to have given him a lesson. Let him keep his money, and be wiser for the future.
gpt
Francis Villiers,