To pierce the eternal precincts of the sky.

Below, outspread,

A scene of such terrific grandeur lay

That reeled the brain at what the eyes beheld;

The hands would clench involuntarily

And clutch from intuition for support;

The eyes by instinct closed, nor dared to gaze

On such an awful and inspiring sight.

The sun arose with bright transcendent ray,

Up from behind a bleak and barren reef;

His face resplendent with beatitude,

Solar effulgence and combustive gleam;

Bathing the scene in such a wealth of light

That none could marvel that primeval man,

Rude and untaught, whene'er the sun appeared,

Fell down and worshiped.

A wilderness of weird, fantastic shapes,

Of precipice and stern declivity;

Of dizzy heights, and towering minarets;

Colossal columns and basaltic spires

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