45. Serenely thus the seasons pass away; And, oh how rapidly they seem to fly Five years have since Yeruti's birth gone by, Five happy years; .. and ere the Moon which then Hung like a Sylphid's light canoe on high Should fill its circle, Monnema again Laying her burthen down must bear a mother's pain. 46. Alas, a keener pang before that day, Must by the wretched Monnema be borne! To roam the wilds as he was wont, one morn; She look'd in vain at eve for his return. By moonlight thro' the midnight solitude She sought him; and she found his garment torn, His bow and useless arrows in the wood, Marks of a jaguar's feet, a broken spear, and blood. A TALE OF PARAGUAY. CANTO II. 1. O THOU who listening to the Poet's song The heart with useless grief; but as I may, Blend in my calm and meditative strain Consolatory thoughts, the balm for real pain. 2. O Youth or Maiden, whosoe'er thou art, As thou in this true tale shalt hear from me And virtues springing up like flowers in solitude. 3. The unhappy Monnema when thus bereft Widow'd she was: but still her child was left; Its proper strength, when love and duty meet; Invincible the heart wherein they have their seat. 4. The seamen who upon some coral reef Are cast amid the interminable main, Still cling to life, and hoping for relief Drag on their days of wretchedness and pain. In turtle shells they hoard the scanty rain, And eat its flesh, sun-dried for lack of fire, Till the weak body can no more sustain Its wants, but sinks beneath its sufferings dire; Most miserable man who sees the rest expire! 5. He lingers there while months and years go by: And holds his hope though months and years have past; And still at morning round the farthest sky, If there he may behold the far-off mast |