Upon the verge of space, about the size

Of half-a-crown, a little speck appeared

(I've seen a something like it in the skies

In the Ægean, ere a squall); it neared,

And, growing bigger, took another guise;

Like an aërial ship it tacked, and steered,[528]

Or was steered (I am doubtful of the grammar

Of the last phrase, which makes the stanza stammer;