"And spread'st it—oh, so quick!—thro' soul and frame "With more than demon's art, till I became "A loathsome thing, all pestilence, all flame!— "Hold, fearless maniac, hold, "Nor tempt my rage-by Heav'n, not half so bold "The gaunt snake once hath fix'd his eyes upon; "Thou'rt mine till death, till death MOKANNA's bride! "Hast thou forgot thy oath?". At this dread word, The Maid, whose spirit his rude taunts had stirr'd Through all its depths, and rous'd an anger there, That burst and lighten'd ev'n through her despair!— * The ancient story concerning the Trochilus, or humming-bird, entering with impunity into the mouth of the crocodile, is firmly believed at Java.-Barrow's Cochin-china. Shrunk back, as if a blight were in the breath, 66 My sworn Bride, let others seek in bowers "Their bridal place—the charnel vault was ours! "Instead of scents and balms, for thee and me "Rose the rich steams of sweet mortality; "Gay, flickering death-lights shone while we were wed, "As victims, love them; as the sea-dog dotes Circum easdem ripas (Nili, viz.) ales est Ibis. Ea serpentium populatur ova, gratissimamque ex his escam nidis suis refert.-Solinus. |