"Behold th' abode of traitors! Sylla here,

And guiltier Cæsar, mourn their mad career;

Here Curio gnaws his chain—Ernestus! see

A darker grave;—a grave reserv'd for thee!"

The widening chasm around him seem'd to grow.

His kindred spirits call'd him from below;

When lo! it closed—and from heaven's opening height,

A brilliant ray burst on his dazzled sight,

And broke the dream.—In deep amazement lost,

Unnumber'd thoughts his feverish bosom cross'd;

Hope, wonder, fear, and penitence combined,

For many a hour oppress'd his varying mind,

'Till now in heaven's blue space the lamp of day

Was hung serene: he hail'd the cheering ray,

And thus began: "Eternal beam, give ear!

Earth, air, and thou, all-ruling Monarch, hear!

Call'd forth by thee from the deep maze of ill,

I haste, to work the mandates of thy will.

[Pg 21]

This hour, this moment, unappall'd by shame,

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