The Woodman's Tale, After The Manner Of Spenser - To Which Are Added, Other Poems, Chiefly Narrative And Lyric, And The Royal Message, A Drama (1805) (Paperback)

General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1805 Original Publisher: Longman Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: WOODMAN'S TALE, CANTO IV. argument. Example's weight Eumolpus tries, To warn of coming guile; But heaven the due success denies, The sUanger mounts the pile. But from the central hills that crown the isle With woody height, by seamen seen afar, Her genius mark'd the loud aerial toil, Of fighting winds and elemental war; He saw old Ocean burst th' eternal bar, And sweep with foamy pride the trembling shore, He saw the barque impell'd by luckless star, With canvass rent to rags, and lab'ring oar, That ty the fated beach the seeming stranger bore. He saw the Demon hide his deadly freight, In seeming show of royalty distrcst: He saw the nation verging to its fate, And hasted down, impetuous, to arrest The fraudful rite, while glanc'd from east to w Portentous lightnings own'd the coming power; Dark gathering clouds the welkin dim invest, With armed gust surcharg'd and haily shower, And o'er the solemn pile the storm was seen to lour. " Unusual horror seiz'd the list'ning crowd, And for a time restrain'd the sanguine rite, With sudden gust the rocking temple bow'd, And o'er th' assembly hung unusual night; While ever and anon a livid light Around the trembling crew excursive play'd, Th' assistants sprung aloof, with pale affright The startled priest forgot his bloody trade, And deem'd some god averse the pious rite survey'd. " First Mnemon felt an energy of heaven, (Who still the rite withstood.) The hoary sage Began: ' Have then the pow'rs of vengeance giv'n ' A welcome pause, a moment to assuage ' Your hot mistemper'd zeal and he...