The twelfth stanza of the poem describes the gloomy atmosphere on the day the Rover is sailing to Scotland. The sun is hidden behind the thick fog. Strong winds were blowing all the day, and now, in the evening it has stopped blowing. The Rover can’t see land as it is very dark now. But he assures his crew members that the moon will appear soon and so there will be light.

Then one of Ralph’s men says that he hears the roaring sound of the waves breaking against something. So, he hopes they should be near the shore. He also regrets that the Inchcape Bell is no more, as it could guide them in this situation. But no sound was there. The tides were strong. The Rover and his team are drifting along with the ship.

When Sir Ralph returned the weather conditions were totally different from how it was when he left.When he returned, the sky was gloomy, a thick fog surrounded the place behind which even the Sun’s light was not visible. Strong winds had been blowing all day, though it had stopped by evening. It was so dark that Ralph the Rover who was standing on the deck couldn’t even see the land and was assuring his crew that it would be lighter soon when the moon appears.

The day Sir Ralph the Rover was returning to Scotland with all his plundered store, it was dark, foggy, and gloomy. On that day Sir Ralph had to meet the result of his misdeed, of cutting the Inchcape bell. Sir Ralph couldn’t see anything from the deck. They could only hear a sound; a sound of the waves, breaking against something. In this bad weather, their ship was drifting along with the water, though there was no wind blowing.