more
eagerly than on any previous occasion,--so much so, indeed, that they
had wholly disregarded the storm; and little Alice was so absorbed in
learning the fate of the poor shipwrecked Dean, that her fears about the
thunder and lightning had been quite forgotten. When the Captain paused,
the storm had passed over, the sun had burst through the scattering
clouds, and in the last lingering drops his silver rays were melted into
gorgeous hues; for

"A rainbow--thrown brightly
Across the dark sky--
(Soft curving, proud arching
In beauty on high)

"Had circled the even,--
A bridal ring, given
To wed earth with heaven,
As it smiled 'neath the veil of the glittering rain."

The little birds had come out of their hiding-places, and were merrily
singing,

"Farewell to the rain, the beautiful rain";

and the party of little folks that had been hidden away in the
"Mariner's Rest," following their example, were soon gayly hastening
across the fresh fields,--the old man carrying laughing Alice in his
arms, to keep her tender feet from the wet grass.

CHAPTER VIII.

In which the Mariner's Rest and the Ancient Mariner
himself receive particular Attention.

[Illustration]

The next day being Sunday, the Captain's little friends did not go down
to see him, and the day after being stormy, they could not. So, when
Tuesday came, they were all the more eager for the visit that it had
been delayed; and accordingly they hurried off at a very early hour.
Indeed, the old man was only too glad to have them come down at any
time, for he had during these past few days become so used to their
being with him, and he had taken such a fancy to them, that he felt
himself quite lost and lonely when a day passed by without seeing them.
He was, as we have already seen, rather afraid they might disturb him if
he said, "Come at any hour you please," instead of "Come at four
o'clock, or three, or two o'clock," as the case might be; but he had
discovered them to be such well-behaved and gentle children, that he
made up his mind they could never trouble or annoy him. So when last
they parted, he said to them, "Come in the morning, if you like, and
play all day about the grounds, and if I have work to do you must not
mind. Nobody will disturb you";--and, in truth, there was nobody there
to disturb them, for besides the old man and his boy, Main Brace, there
was no living thing about the h