"Possess'd my soul, till at the break of day "I slept; nor did heated brain repose my "Even then, for visions, sent, as I believe, "From the Most High, arose. A high-tower'd town "Hemm'd in and girt with enemies, I saw, "Where Famine on a heap of carcases, "Half envious of the unutterable feast, "Mark'd the gorged raven clog his beak with gore. "I turn'd me then to the besieger's camp, "And there was revelry: the loud lewd laugh "Burst on mine ear, and I beheld the chiefs "Sit at their feast, and plan the work of death. sick within me; I look'd up, My soul grew "Reproaching Heaven,.. lo! from the clouds an arm "As of the avenging Angel was put forth, "And from his hand a sword, like lightning, fell. "From that night I could feel my burthen'd soul "Heaving beneath incumbent Deity. "I sate in silence, musing on the days "To come, unheeding and unseeing all "And the mind alone is wakeful. I have heard "Strange voices in the evening wind; strange forms Dimly discover'd throng'd the twilight air. "The neighbours wonder'd at the sudden change, "And in his eye such trouble, that my heart "At length I heard of Orleans, by the foe "Wall'd in from human succour ; there all thoughts, "All hopes were turn'd; that bulwark once beat down, "All was the invaders. Now my troubled soul "Grew more disturb'd, and, shunning every eye, "I loved to wander where the forest shade "Frown'd deepest; there on mightiest deeds to brood "Of shadowy vastness, such as made my heart "Throb loud: anon I paused, and in a state "Of half expectance, listen'd to the wind. "There is a fountain in the forest call'd "The Fountain of the Fairies: when a child "With a delightful wonder I have heard "Tales of the Elfin tribe who on its banks "Hold midnight revelry. An ancient oak, "The goodliest of the forest, grows beside; "Alone it stands, upon a green grass plat, 66 By the woods bounded like some little isle. "It ever hath been deem'd their favourite tree; "They love to lie and rock upon its leaves, "And bask in moonshine. Here the Woodman leads "His boy, and, showing him the green-sward mark'd "With darker circlets, says their midnight dance "Hath trac'd the ring, and bids him spare the tree. "Fancy had cast a spell upon the place, "And made it holy; and the villagers "Would say that never evil thing approach'd "Unpunish'd there. The strange and fearful pleasure "Which fill'd me by that solitary spring, "Ceased not in riper years; and now it woke "Deeper delight and more mysterious awe. Lonely the forest spring: a rocky hill "Rises beside it, and an aged yew Bursts from the rifted crag that overbrows "The waters; cavern'd there unseen and slow "And silently they well. The adder's tongue, "Rich with the wrinkles of its glossy green, Hangs down its long lank leaves, whose wavy dip "Just breaks the tranquil surface. Ancient woods "Bosom the quiet beauties of the place, "Nor ever sound profanes it, save such sounds "As Silence loves to hear, the passing wind, "Or the low murmuring of the stream scarce heard. "A blessed spot! oh how my soul enjoy'd "Its holy quietness, with what delight Escaping from mankind I hasten'd there "To solitude and freedom! thitherward "On a spring eve I had betaken me, "And there I sate, and mark'd the deep red clouds "Gather before the wind.. the rising wind, "Whose sudden gusts, each wilder than the last, 66 Appear'd to rock my senses. Soon the night "Darken'd around, and the large rain drops fell 66 Heavy; anon tempestuously the gale "Howl'd o'er the wood. Methought the heavy rain "Fell with a grateful coolness on my head, "And the hoarse dash of waters, and the rush "Of winds that mingled with the forest roar, "Made a wild music. On a rock I sat ; "The glory of the tempest fill'd my soul; “And when the thunders peal'd, and the long flash "Hung durable in heaven, and on my sight "Spread the gray forest, memory, thought, were gone, |