Canto VII

Steer'd by the guardian fairy's viewless hand,
That smooth'd the sea, and curb'd each stormy blast,
The lovely pair sev'n days of pleasure past,
In safety reach'd Lepanto's promis'd land ;
Before their sight, within the shelter'd bay,
Two well-built pinnaces at anchor lay,
Their streamers float before the fav'ring gales ;
This freighted for the port of rich Marseilles,
That to the neighboring coast of Naples steers her way.

Tir'd of his wary follower's Argus eyes,
Worn by his vigilance and Mentor mien,
The youthful lover gladdens at a scene
Where fav'ring chance his eager wish supplies :
He grasps the proffer'd boon without delay—
" My friend ! whole days and years may slip away,
" Ere Huon sees again his native home :
" First, I am bound, you know, to visit Rome,
" And must, above all claims, that holy call obey !

" Yet duty bids me to the king declare
" All is fulfill'd, the word I rashly swore.
" Thou art my liegeman, go my path before — :
" Do thou, if Huon fail, to France repair.
" Away ! To proud Marseilles yon pinnace steers,
" Thence haste to court, and, mid th' assembled peers,
" To sooth the emperour, for thy master's sake,
" This casket with the beard and grinders take,
" And with strange tale amaze the monarch's wond'ring ears.

" And say, that when the pope with holy pray'r
" Has blest our union, Huon at his feet
" Shall with the caliph's child his presence greet.
" Farewell, old friend ! — the wind blows fresh and fair;
" And, hark ! that joyful shout ! — th' impatient crew
" Now heave the anchor : honest friend ! adieu !—
" Success attend thee — haste ! — the mandate o'er,
" Seek me at Rome — we there shall meet once more :
" Fresh blows th' inviting gale — farewell ! my liegeman true !"

The old man darts his soul in Huon's eyes,
Shakes his gray beard, and though his bowels yearn,
And in his breast indignant anger burn,
Yet wisely curbs his tongue from sharp replies.
The casket well might wait ; he thinks, indeed,
That present claim'd not such provoking speed :
The jewels would Sir Huon's entry grace,
When in the emperour's presence, face to face,
The knight had paid the debt, and stood by honour freed.

Forc'd by his friend and master's stern command,
Struck to the soul by his relentless air,
What can his liegeman but for flight prepare ?
With farewell kiss he prints fair Rezia's hand :
But when he clasps his lord, and sees the knight
With loathing look his honest zeal requite,
Tears down his silver beard in streams descend —
" Master! best master! Heaven your days defend !
" Soon may we meet in peace ! God keep you in his sight !"

How beat Sir Huon's heart, while wave on wave
Rolls on between him and his aged friend !
Oh ! where at last will rash impatience end ?
Ah ! who like Sherasmin, so prompt to save
His master's life at hazard of his own ?
How faithful by my side in danger shown !—
This sad reflection, now too late assails—
Oh ! who shall counsel when my virtue fails ?
Who snatch me from myself, abandoned and alone ?

Thus inly he exclaims and firmly vows
True to himself and to his fairy friend,
(Who seems, though hid from view, at times, to send
A soft celestial breath that round him blows)
To stand the test of honour and of love.
No more he dares near fair Amanda move ;
Far, far from her he stands the livelong night,
And to the pole-star lifts his aching sight,
And lets his listless looks, by day, o'er ocean rove.

Rezia, who sees, thus chang'd by dread alarms,
Huon, in whom she lives, more deeply grieves,
The less her anxious search the cause conceives :
With tender wo she weeps her powerless charms,
Not proudly feels, at his neglect, offence.
Sweet maid ! what balm allays thy pang intense ?
Patience is thine, whose smile might fiends disarm !
Yet every hour new dangers more alarm,
And, day and night their peace is rack'd by sad suspense.

One night, when sinking from the cloudless sky
Arcturus wheel'd his radiant orb away,
To cool in Thetis' lap his closing ray,
On board the wild confusion seem'd to die ;
Scarce rock'd the billows, as in shadowy rows
The floating harvest waves when Zephyr blows;
Dead slumber dully steep'd in fumes of wine
Had bound the crew, and at the helm supine
The careless pilot sunk in undisturb'd repose.

Sad Huon rackt by feelings long supprest,
While every bitter tear, that silent stole,
Wrung by his harshness from Amanda's soul,
Burns like a flame of fire his bleeding breast,
Breathes forth at last so loud so long a sigh,
His death-groan strikes her ear — he soon must die —
Shame and deep anguish rack the wav'ring maid—
If fails Amanda, who shall Huon aid,
Bend to his whisper'd wo, and close his drooping eye.

Amanda, like an angel rob'd in light,
Soft pity heightening her celestial charms,
Stands o'er the youth with, fearful open arms.
He thinks that heaven expands before his sight—
His cheek, but now so wan with ceaseless woes,
Beams with new life, with fiery passion glows :
His blood, but now that faint and fainter crept,
Swift through each vein in quivering pulses leapt.
Forbear ! frail youth, forbear ! — relentless fates oppose.

They meet — the heav'ns are darken'd, quench'd each star!
Ah ! happy pair ! they knew it not — the wave
Howls, as unfetter'd winds o'er ocean rave :
Their tempest-laden pinions roar from far !
They hear it not — with rage encircled round,
Stern Oberon flying through the gloom profound
Rushes before their face— they hear him not !
And thrice the thunder peals their boded lot :
Alas ! they hear it not, each sense in rapture drown'd !

Meanwhile the tumult maddens more and more ;
Fierce from all sides at once a whirlwind breaks ;
Rock'd by rude gusts the earth confus'dly shakes,
The welkin flames, with lightning vaulted o'er :
High in the air by surging tempests cast,
The world of waters bellows to the blast :
The vessel reels at random to and fro,
The boatswain calls in vain, while shrieks of wo
Ring through the staggering ship, all hope of safety past!

The wind's unbridled rage, the heav'n that burns,
Enwrapt in flames like hell's sulphureous tides,
The crackling of the vessel's rifted sides,
That now, as rise and fall the waves by turns,
Sinks buried in the dark unfathom'd deep ;
Now rocks upon the billow's ridgy steep,
While all beneath in foamy vapour dies :
Such sounds, of power to force the dead to rise,
Awake the conscious pair from love's enchanted sleep.

Wild darts Amanda from his fond caress—
" Our doom is seal'd !" she cries with dread affright.
Conscious of guilt, he prays the guardian spright
To shield, at least, Amanda from distress —
At least for her he dares the god implore —
In vain ! — no pray'rs his former grace restore :
He comes th' avenger of the guilty soul,
Stern to inflict the doom — the horn and bowl,
The fairy gifts, are gone— he hears and saves no more!

Meanwhile the captain calls th' assembled crew—
" Ye see your doom — we all at once expire !
" The stormy wave, rude blast, and lightning fire,
" With still increasing rage the ship pursue !
" We soon must perish in the wat'ry grave !
" Never till now such tempests swell'd the wave !
" At once we sink in ocean's yawning womb !
" Haply the guilt of one has seal'd our doom :
" One whom the lightning seeks — his death the rest may save !

" Implore offended heaven to mark by lot
" The destin'd victim with unerring arm —
" Is there among you whom my words alarm ?
" Thus doom'd to die together on the spot,
" Who, but the wretch self-judg'd, has cause to fear?"
He spoke ; and all approve the words they hear.
The priest the chalice brings, the lots they cast,
Round him they fall upon their knees aghast !
He breathes a prayer to heaven, and bids the crew draw near.

Fill'd with dire bodings, but in manly mood,
Huon comes forth, and as he passes by,
On poor Amanda turns his soothing eye:
She, mute and agouiz'd, and bloodless stood,
An alabaster image, icy cold !
He draws — oh, fate ! oh, Oberon ! behold,
He draws the lot of death with trembling hand !
Mute, with fixt gaze, the rest around him stand,
The while he reads his doom, pale, patient, uncontroll'd.

" Thine, Oberon !" he cries, " 'tis thine the deed !
" Full well I feel it, though I view thee not —
" Stern god ! I feel thy presence in this lot !
" Thou did'st forewarn me of harsh fate decreed —
" Guilt dares not sue for pardon — just my doom !
" Hurl me, relentless spirit ! to the tomb !
" Spare but Amanda ! — mine alone the guilt !
" Be on my head thy hoarded vengeance spilt !
" I bow — nor shall these lips to breathe a hope presume !

" Ye, whom my death now rescues, shed one tear,
" One pious tear, to mourn my hapless doom !
" Victim of ruthless fate in youthful bloom !
" Not wholly guiltless ends my brief career,
" Yet honour firmly trod my path before —
" Ah ! tranc'd in bliss, the oath I rashly swore,
" And warning voice one moment I forgot !
" My sole offence man's universal lot,
" To be one moment frail, then lost for evermore !

" I, doom'd by frailty, fall in youthful prime !
" Yet to my fate without a murmur bend—
" No, I repent not, though stern death impend ! —
" Is love a sin ? may Heaven forgive the crime !
" All other duties from remembrance fade.
" Ah ! save by love how could'st thou be repaid ?
" Thou ! who for love did'st every hope resign !
" Not ocean's depth can dim its light divine ;
" No, it immortal glows, and lives in Huou's shade !"

Here swells his heart — he holds his icy hand
O'er his sunk brow ; then mute and still remains.
What monster, steel'd to woe, the tear restrains ?
The hearts of all, who round in silence stand,
Dissolve with pity. — Sterner thoughts arise,
And pity's transient gleam unnotic'd dies !
His death is safety — 'tis the life of all !
Heaven, in his doom, decrees that guilt should fall !
How shall frail man resist the judgment of the skies?

The storm, that from the time Sir Huon spoke
Had seem'd awhile its fury to assuage,
Now smote the ocean with redoubled rage :
Incessant lightnings on the vessel broke —
" Perish the wretch !" bursts forth the general cry :
The captain beckons, " Fate forbids reply !
" Since no delay your life can longer save,
" And death more fiercely bellows from the wave,
" Perish! it must be so — by Heaven condemned to die !"

The Paladin moves on with steady pace :
At once amid the crew, th' empassion'd fair,
So long the lifeless statue of despair,
Darts wild with woe to Huon's last embrace,
Loose, like a lion's mane, her ringlets sweep
Before the, blast ! With eyes that cannot weep,
With love to frenzy wrought, with high-swoln breast,
And circling arms round Huon closely prest,
She hurls him with herself amid the swallowing deep !

And what but force the trusty Fatma saves
From willing death ? She views their clasping form,
Entwin'd like tendrils, by the billowy storms
Roll'd onward, faintly struggling through the waves.
And when, soon lost, she views them, ah ! no more,
Her shrieks of anguish ring the vessel o'er.
Who shall assuage her heart-consuming pain ?
Who to her arms Amanda bring again ?
Who all she lov'd replace, and hope extinct restore ?

Meanwhile, no sooner had the foamy waves
Touch'd the knight's head, than, lo! the stormy tide
Seems, as if lull'd by magic, to subside !
The thunder's boding peal no longer raves,
The whirlwind, gradual hush'd, at distance dies!
The foaming floods that dash'd against the skies
Smooth as a silver lake in silence sleep !
With jocund oar the vessel cuts the deep,
And, ere the sun twice sets, secure in harbour lies.

But, ah ! what now your fate, devoted pair !
Hopeless ye float upon the boundless wave !
Faint and more faint, now sinking to the grave !
Sight, feeling, memory, lost in dead despair,
And no sensations, save of love, remain:
Twin'd as in one their clasping arms enchain :
Each on the other sinks resign'd to death,
And breathing only in each other's breath,
Thus breast to breast they float along th' unpitying main !

And can'st thou, Oberon ! without remorse,
Thus see them perish ? once their guardian friend,
Thou seest, thou weep'st ! ah ! why no more defend ?
He turns, and flies from each devoted corse !—
They perish I — Fear it not! — new hopes expand!
Soon will they reach, unhurt, the neighb'ring strand :
Death o'er them vainly flaps his iron wing,
His dart is blunted by the magick ring,
Pledge of connubial love on Rezia's plighted hand.

The blest possessor of this magick ring,
This ring, great Solomon's all-powerful seal,
The common lot of man can never feel.
Is he imprison'd ? locks wide open spring !
Iron and adamant beneath it fail!
Will he from Trente to distant Memphis sail ?
He wings along the air his viewless course.
He who possesses it, and knows its force,
Can, as he wills, alike o'er earth and hell prevail !

He can displace the moon, and from her sphere
Draw her at will ; beneath the noontide ray
Veil'd in a vapour from the face of day
Onward he glides unheard by mortal ear,
Nor visible to eye of piercing spright.
Shall any being stand before his sight ?
Let him but press the ring, at once display'd,
Be it or man, or beast, or ghost, or shade,
Lo! at his beck it bows, the slave of magick might.

This ring, thy charmed life, Amanda ! saves ;
Thine, and thy Huon's, who by love carest,
Chain'd by thy arm, and fetter'd to thy breast,
Unconscious how, O wonder ! from the waves
Is cast with thee upon a rocky strand.
Yes, ye are sav'd ! ye rest, indeed, on land :
But hard your bed ! — the island round appears
One vast volcanick waste, the wreck of years :
To grass is seen to wave, no verdant leaf expand.

Yet in their first intoxicating bliss
To fears of future wo their joys impede :
Thus hopelessly, thus wonderfully freed,
Snatch'd from the bosom of the deep abyss,
Lone, uncontroll'd, unwitness'd, arm in arm ;
This soul-felt-joy, unutterable charm,
So in itself concentres all delight,
To earthly object steals upon their sight ;
Yet, soon their state forlorn but wakes more fell alarm.

Drench'd with the billows of the surging tides.
Weary they wander on the desert strand.
All solitary round them frowns the land,
The cloudless sun in flaming glory rides :
And while her dripping robes are hung to dry
On some bare rock, ah ! how shall Rezia fly
The beams that dart upon her skin of snow ?
Fierce burns the sand, the fiery pebbles glow,
And, ah ! no leafy bow'rs a shelt'ring shade supply.

At last where opening rocks a cleft disclose,
By Huon's searching eye a cave is seen :
Faint, in his arms he bears the Eastern queen,
And lays her in its shade to cool repose :
Then with hoar moss, and many a sun-burnt reed,
(Alas ! how grateful in the hour of need)
He strews her bed— -they sigh, their glances meet
That pour unutterable solace sweet,
For every present want, and worse, if worse succeed.

O love ! thou only balm of every wo
That preys on man ! intoxicating sweet,
When soul weds soul, and hearts each other meet !
What joys with thine compare, thou heaven below ?
How swift the sad reverse ! how chang'd their state !
Ah ! happy pair ! but now ye tow'r'd elate,
Fav'rites of fortune ! now, from empire thrown,
Scarce 'scap'd with life, abandon'd, and alone !
And yet by love consol'd, how blest your envied fate !

Not golden halls by pomp imperial trod,
Can boast a grace, that like this savage grot
Charms Rezia's eye ! and in this desert spot
He to her bosom prest becomes a god !
The rugged flint on which their limbs repose,
Where love with mould'ring moss the cavern strews,
Seems richer than the pearl-embroider'd bed,
And far more fragrant than fresh odours shed
From lily's perfum'd breath, or scent of vernal rose !

Oh ! that th' illusive bliss that feeds the heart,
So swift dissolves away ! unmark'd indeed,
Yet hour on hour darts on with lightning speed —
And other food must sustenance impart —
What friend will aid them ? On this arid strand,
This bleak, unknown, inhospitable land,
Where mountains hurl'd on mountains frown around,
To sooth keen famine what can here be found,
Now gone the golden bowl, withdrawn the fairy hand ?

With swift unwearied foot the youthful knight
Climbs up the rocks, and darts around his gaze :
From side to side what horrid views amaze !
Misshapen crags and ruins shock his sight !
Where'er he tearful turns, no valley green,
Cool glen, or meadow, smiles the clifts between —
No branches beckon him with golden fruit :
Thin heath, and straggling brambles scarcely shoot,
And scarce a thistle blooms amid th' unvarying scene !

" Thus," he exclaims, by desperate anguish stung,
While on his lips the flames of frenzy burn,
" Thus shall I, wretch ! with empty hand return,
" Where Rezia dies, by gnawing famine wrung !
" For whom alone my life is worth a care !
" I, her sole hope, must hopeless back repair —
" I, who in every heart-pulse feel her glow,
" No more, for one fleet day, can sooth her wo,
" Or snatch her sinking soul from comfortless despair!

" Shall I, then, see thee on this barbarous shore,
" Thou wonder of the world ! in pangs unknown,
" Thus waste away ? O thou ! for me alone
" Whelm'd in such woes, that fate can add no more—
" Who didst for me alone that lot resign,
" Thy stars once promis'd, lot on earth divine,
" Till misery bound thee in my cruel chain !
" But now (here raving frenzy burns his brain)
" Keen famine o'er thee hangs, and eyes thy swift decline !"

Loudly he shrieks in agonizing smart,
Then sinks to earth, all hopeless of relief;
At last a ray that seems to sooth his grief,
A gleam of solace steals upon his heart :
He struggles through the darkness of despair,
Once more looks round, in vain, with wistful air:
The sun-beams streak the western wave with gold,
When lo ! his fascinated eyes behold
The fairest fruit that grows: oh! then how wondrous fair !

Half under foliage hid, and half illum'd,
The fruit low-nodding on its broad leav'd arms
Gleams through the shade, and tempts with glowing charms :
In tints how bright ! in fragrance how perfum'd !
Before him as it shines, from far display'd,
He thinks each former pang at once o'erpaid;
He runs — he breaks it — glancing up to heaven,
He breathes mute thanks for hopeless blessings given,
And rapture speeds his feet with flying wing array'd.

But Rezia in these long forsaken hours,
(Cast on a spot where all awakens fear,
Where every sound strikes horrour on the ear,
And death-like silence more and more o'erpow'rs,)
Reft of her Huon, hopeless, and alone,
Long check'd the tear, and curb'd the rising groan :
While with faint hand to strew her flinty bed
She dragg'd hoar moss, and rushes widely spread,
And weeds along the beach in many a layer thrown.

Worn as she was, the toil her strength o'erpow'rs,
She can no more — her knees beneath her bend —
Faint on the shore her sinking limbs extend !
While hunger's gnawing fang her heart devours :
She pants — she faints, sore parch'd with burning heat !
Here, where all fails, no friend her wo to greet,
How dire her lot ! — why, Huon ! why delay ?
Perhaps some wo unknown — some beast of prey —
The very thought is death, her pulse forgets to beat.

And fancy with the darkest hue of fear
Shapes every thought that most her bosom grieves :
And sad despair each shadowy fear believes !
If but a billow beat, death strikes her ear !
With tottering step reviv'd by mere despair,
High on a rock that tow'rs sublime in air
She gazes round her, heartless, far and wide,
When, ere the last low sun-beam gilds the tide,
She views, O gracious Heaven ! — he flies ! — himself is there !

Wide wave her beckoning arms, deep heaves her breath,
While from afar the treasure he displays :
Not fairer in creation's infant days
Lur'd the first wife to taste the tree of death !
The lover holds it as in triumph, high,
In the last rays, that now about to die,
Paint with the colour of resplendent fire
The fruit whose polish'd rind inflames desire :
Amanda scarce believes her pleasure-sparkling eye.

" Heaven !" she exclaims, " at last with pitying grace
" Has deign'd to sooth our wo !" — a tear distends
Her grateful eye, but ere the tear descends,
Glad Huon clasps her in his warm embrace—
Her low and languid tone, her heavy head,
That sinks upon his breast like one half dead,
Urges his speed — upon the stone they rest,
And while new rapture shot from breast to breast,
He cuts in twain the fruit where hope already fed.

Fall from my feeble hand, weak pencil, fall !
Canst thou, too vengeful sp right ! when thus they grieve,
Sport with despair, and life's last hope deceive ?
Alas ! more bitter than the bitterest gall —
Ah — mouldy through and through the fruit of gold !
Pale as the cheek with death-dew icy cold,
They on each other gaze ; heart-broken pair !
They speak not, move not, but with horrour stare,
As if by thunder pierc'd, from cloudless aether roll'd.

A stream of bitter tears in fury flow
From Huon's eyes : those tears, whose struggling flood
Despair drives forth from misery's stagnate blood,
When foams the lip, when starting eyeballs glow,
And the teeth grind convuls'd with maniack ire —
But, though for ever fled, sweet hope retire,
Yet still, and meek and mild, with rayless eyes,
Parch'd lip, and pallid cheek, Amanda sighs,
" Oh ! let me on thy breast — 'tis all I ask — expire !

" And ah ! how sweet to die upon thy breast !
" And thanks to the avenger, kind in death,
" That on thy heart I breathe my farewell breath !" —
She speaks in falt'ring whisper half supprest,
Then on his bosom sinks with closing eyes.
Thus beaten by the storm a lily lies
With drooping head. Up Huon swiftly springs,
Round her his arms in hopeless frenzy flings,
And tow'rds the sheltering cave with wiug'd impatience flies.

" O for a drop of water ! only one !"
Half-mad, half-praying, "gracious Heav'n !" he cries—
" I, I am guilty — let my death suffice !
" O let thy vengeance fall on me alone !
" To me let nature round become a grave—
" But, ah ! relenting Power ! that angel save !
" O guide me to the traces of a spring,
" Oh ! to some neighboring fount my footsteps bring,
" Cool on her fiery lip to pour the crystal wave !"

And forth he hastes, impatient to explore,
And swears he sooner will himself entomb
Mid rocks where thirst and famine life consume,
Than, reft of hope, revisit her once more !
In tears he cries, " That Pow'r, who from his sphere,
" When the young ravens cry bows down his ear,
" Who deigns to notice if a sparrow fall,
" He will not suffer thee, prime work of all,
" Thou masterpiece of Heaven ! to waste, unpitied, here."

He speaks : and hark ! at once a viewless rill
Glides with near murmur on his sharpen'd ear —
He bends in breathless agony to hear :
It murmurs on — wild joys his bosom thrill-
He looks to heaven, and ere the twilight ray
That gleam'd upon the mountains, died away,
Casts on the fountain his ecstatic view ;
Scoops in a muscle-shell the heavenly dew,
And wild to Rezia flies ere death had seiz'd his prey.

More gratefully the healing rill to sip,
He bears Amanda where its current flows :
At once new life with quickening vigour glows;
From every drop that dews her fiery lip,
Fresh beats the pulse that dances in her veins :
Not wine itself such strengthening pow'r contains:
More sweet than milk, more soft than oil the flood,
Its genial spirit renovates the blood,
And in oblivion drowns the sense of sharpest pains.

Fir'd by new hope, on that enchanted spot,
Warm from the heart, devotion wings their breath
To him who twice had rescu'd them from death !
Their meeting arms embrace, all wo forgot :
And when their lips once more had drain'd the bowl,
Sleep, balm of grief, mild soother of the soul,
Deigns with light touch their weary limbs unbind ;
And on the moss that fring'd the rill, reclin'd,
Soft o'er their languid frame his genial influence stole.

The glimmering beams of twilight scarcely play
On Huon's brow, than forth th' adventurer goes,
And to new perils dares his life expose :
From ledge to ledge pursues his fearless way,
Where broken crags the precipice divide :
Creeps thro' each cleft, and climbs each jutting side.
Oft backward bends his still-returning gaze ;
Oft deeply sighs, as long and lone he strays,
To view the desert isle, untrodden far and wide.

But, at the last, south-eastward from the cave,
A path swift-winding to a little cove
Leads where encircling rocks that tovver'd above,
Fenc'd a wild copse : there, ripe before him wave
A date-tree's spreading branches bow'd with fruit —
Swift as in air enfranchis'd spirits shoot,
That from the pains of purgatory fly,
And, scap'd from flames, ascend their native sky,
Thus, as if wing'd to heaven, he springs with feathery foot.

His eager hand a branch luxuriant breaks,
Downward he leaps, and speeds with nimble flight,
To charm Amanda's soul with new delight:
On this, the moment that Amanda wakes,
Her pleasure-tranced eye shall sweetly rest.
Graceful within herself the slumberer prest,
Lay, as he came, enwrapt in soft repose :
Her cheek warm-blossom'd like a vernal rose,
And scarce her robe confin'd her half-imprison'd breast.

Bent in transporting gaze, love's pure delight,
In speechless wonder, Huon at her side
Stands like the genius of the sleeping bride,
And feasts at large his never sated sight,
On matchless beauties, that with fresh surprise
View'd o'er and o'er seem ever new to rise.
He sees the victim who for him resign'd,
For him alone, that state which tempts mankind,
To yield each heavenly hope a willing sacrifice !

" Tis love has reft thee from thy native throne—
" Ah ! wherefore ? thou, while luxury round thee smil'd,
" Nurs'd by voluptuous Asia ! happy child !
" Lo! here thou slumbcr'st, stretch'd upon a stone !
" Thy canopy yon clouds above thee spread,
" A little moss beneath thy only bed !
" Prey to each adverse change of angry skies.
" Yet here how blest, where thistles scarce arise,
" If these uncultur'd fruits yet snatch thee from the dead.

" And I, ordain'd by iron fate to spread
" The baneful influence of my doom severe
" O'er the last friend that weeps my sigh to hear ;
" I, who should shield thy unprotected head,
" 'Tis I who doom thee to severest pains !
" Of all thy gifts, lo ! these the bitter gains !
" Ah ! reft of every friend, save me alone,
" I swell thy tear, I deepen every groan,
" I to whom nought on earth but hopeless life remains."

This heart-tormenting anguish, undesign'd,
More loudly plains, and wakes the lovely bride-
She views enraptured Huon by her side ;
Yet still the traces of a wounded mind
Low'r'd on his brow, that witness'd deep distress,
Which joy and glowing love but half suppress—
He gives the fruit, His all that famine craves.
This and the beverage fresh from crystal waves
Seems an overflowing feast of heav'nly happiness.

A feast for gods ! how sinks in still repose
Her brow on Huon's breast! Twas Huon brought
The fruit that nurtures her — Twas Huon sought
At dawn the rocks around to sooth her woes ;
Rous'd from short sleep for her o'er wilds to rove—
Thus stands the balance in the page of love :
Each deed untold, for him by Rezia done.
Thus she permits her eye, his cheering sun,
On him pure joy to beam, and every cloud remove.

Her smile, her touching air, the pure excess
Of generous love, more deeply wound his heart:
With eyes whence drops like blood from anguish start,
And looks that speechless agony express,
He sinks upon the bosom of the fair—
" And shall I not, O wretch abhorr'd ! despair ?
" And curse each star that glimmer'd on the night
" That gave me birth, and loath the baleful light,
" When in a mother's arm I wept her new-born care ?

" O bride ador'd ! thro' me, and thro' my crime,
" To see thee thus from every bliss remov'd,
" All that in Bagdad serv'd, rever'd, and lov'd ;
" From every hope, that once in happier time
" I fondly promis'd in my native land :
" To see thee wreck'd on this deserted strand,
" And yet to witness how without lament
" Thou smil'st as one with misery content !—
" Spare me, vindictive Pow'r ! I sink beneath thy hand !"

Amanda beams on him that look divine
In which heaven opens on his eye confest :
Beams that pure joy which sooths her soul to rest —
' Huon ! thy wo alone embitters mine !
' Oh ! let that lip belov'd from words refrain
' That bow my spirit with severest pain :
' Hate not thyself, nor him whose trials wound ;
' Not punishments but trials press around ;
' The God that smites his child will sooth to peace again !

" Our blended fates, since that enchanting dream,
Nurse of our love, this solemn truth disclose :
At will, the viewless author of our woes
Heaven, or the fairy god, or fortune deem :
Enough : a wonder chain'd our hearts in one —
If aught be wonderful beneath the sun,
Our love, our life, alike a wonder call !
Who wing'd our flight from Bagdad's hostile wall ?
Who sav'd when o'er our head tempestuous billows

" And when already dying, hope withdrew,
As scarce we scap'd the waves, what guardian power
Preserv'd ? the God who rules the present hour !
He bath'd my fiery lip with healing dew ;
And, mid the terrours of that dreadful night,
Woke to new life my faintly-glimmering light —
This unexpected fruit on which I feed,
Comes from the Pow'r, who in the hour of need,
Turns to the cry of wo his long-averted sight !

' Say more — if our destruction be decreed,
' Oh ! why again by wondrous aid relieve ?
' Tis my heart speaks, no treacherous hopes deceive ;
' He who so oft has deign'd through darkness lead,
' Dooms not our souls to grief a destined prey.
' Oh ! if the anchor of our hope give way,
' Let us embrace this faith the heart to cheer :
' All that now pangs, at once, may disappear,
' All change — and bright once more beam forth meridian day.

' Press on my sight each shape of torturing fear,
' Withdrawn the wondrous hand still friendly found —
' Year after year let ills on ills abound,
' No friend to help, and not a hope to cheer :
' In this lone desert let Amanda find
' A grave, unvisited by human-kind,
' No sigh in secret shall my doom deplore.
' Oh ! could I freely choose my lot once more,
' I follow where thou lead'st, with thee in misery join'd.

' At once to part from all that I possest,
' I reck it not, so Huon firm remains :
' The world for me no other wish contains :
' Let me repose on Huon's faithful breast,
' Though low on earth, I envy none their state,
' Who boast their bliss on golden thrones elate.
' 'Tis in thy feelings that alone I feel :
' If but a sigh from thee in secret steal,
' 'Tis then alone I mourn a thousand times my fate.

' Speak not of that which thy Amanda gave,
' Or bore for thee ; my heart the whole approv'd—
' I did it for myself, because I lov'd :
' No — not the tenfold horrours of the grave
' Rack like the thrilling fear from thee to part!
' Whate'er our lot, the love that warms thy heart
' Shall sooth my grief — my love shall lighten thine !
' Heap wo on wo I never will repine !
' Here is my hand — thus pledg'd, I scorn fate's deadly dart!

' Ever at early dawn, and close of day,
' Oh ! be Amanda's toil to thine allied —
' Labour shall lead me smiling by thy side,
' So but a smile of thine my toil repay.
' Love that inspires me shall each sinew strain,
' Brace every nerve, replenish every vein ;
' With proud delight the lowest service pay.
' If I increase thy joy, thy wo allay,
' I would not change my lot o'er all the world to reign,'

Thus spoke the matchless bride, and chastely prest,
Seal of her word, his mouth with angel kiss :
He feels its force — at once entranc'd in bliss,
His soul the magick of her lip confest.
How chang'd the scene ! his ravish'd eyes behold
Mid the rude rocks a paradise unfold !
Away each trace of desolation fled,
The pebbly shore with pearls is overspread,
A marble hall the grot, the rocks o'erlaid with gold ;

New courage fires him as his lip she prest —
How fades the world before such heavenly charms !
Enraptur'd Huon clasps her in his arms —
High bounds his heart against her open breast—
" Witness, thou earth! thou heav'n ! thou orb of light !
" Witness my vow this angel to requite :
" I swear it on this breast, unspotted shrine,
" Altar of innocence and truth divine !
" Hurl me, if swerve my soul, to realms of endless night !

" If, where thy hallow'd name is grav'd with fire,
" If e'er this wandering heart thy love resign,
" Or for a moment slight thy worth divine,
" Till patient wo exhausts the wood-god's ire—
" If sunk through feebleness, or worn with care,
" I shun, all, all to suffer, all to dare
" For thee, O bride belov'd ! — Thou, orb of light !
" Strike my bow'd head, with fiery vengeance smite,
" And earth and sea refuse to shield me from despair!"

He spoke ; her bosom glow'd, again the fair
Gifts with a grateful kiss th' exalted youth —
Love with new pledges seals their mutual truth ;
Each strengthening each the iron yoke to bear,
Unconquer'd by the blows of adverse fate :
Still to look up with confidence elate,
Where hope, sole guide, thro' paths by misery trod,
Lifts his bright torch before the throne of God,
Who hears when misery pleads at heaven's unclosing gate.

And both, ere daylight died, the shelt'ring bay,
Where bloom'd the palm-tree, eagerly explore ;
And here and there a branch profusely bore
Rich golden clusters, that their search repay.
And now, like children, the delighted pair,
While hung on waving boughs the scanty fare,
Think the luxuriant fruit can never fail.
And thus gay wandering through the palmy vale,
Eve after eve they pass, nor feel nor fear a care.

But, ah ! the treasure fails ! — a year, a year
With leaden foot must drag its tedious pace,
Ere autumn's tardy growth the fruit replace,
While want each ling'ring day grows more severe !
Though love, devoid of wealth, is richly blest,
Though in itself of all at once possest,
Yet now, when famine keen and keener grew,
What in these wilds shall nature's waste renew ?
Who weave once more the charm that sooth'd to transient rest?

Roots which keen hunger can alone devour,
To suffering nature seem delicious fare ;
And when at last o'erdone with toil and care,
He homeward bears, at twilight's closing hour,
Wild berries gather'd from the barren stone,
Eggs from the cliff where sea-mews lonely moan,
Or fish half gnaw'd, of cormorant the prey ;
These scanty gleanings of his toilsome day
Content his famish'd bride, who grieves for him alone.

Sport of rude blasts, the desolated trees
Strew with sear leaf the melancholy shore ;
Through naked boughs the wintry tempests roar :
And hoary mists, that sweep along the seas,
Veil in dark clouds the sun's meridian light ;
In sad confusion air and sea unite :
High o'er the strand tempestuous ocean breaks,
The furious tide its rocky boundary shakes,
Spangling with silver foam the cliff's aerial height.

At last, dire want that more and more subdues,
Drives the poor exiles from their fav'rite bay :
Yet up the mountains as they wind their way,
Unsated famine still their step pursues,
Scowls on all sides, and bars their further flight.
And now, half wild with anguish and delight,
Huon mid anxious hopes, mid thrilling fears,
And boding miseries, steep'd in tender tears.
Views the sweet pledge of love swell gradual on sight.

And oft Amanda clasps her husband's hand
In silence on her heart, a tearful smile
Gleams in her soul-transporting look the while:
Love weaves a new indissoluble band —
A nameless joy, a solemn still desire,
A mother's love, her boding breast inspire :
Sensations sweet, yet strange, till now unknown,
Scenes of maternal tenderness foreshown,
Thrill through her glowing soul, and sanctify their fire.

And this sweet pledge a firm assurance proves,
That viewless powers direct their destin'd fates :
It tells her that the God whose word creates,
With all a father's warmth his children loves.
Thus cheer'd, she bears her load without a sigh,.
And every care supprest, her Huon nigh,
The radiant sun of hope is ever seen
To beam sweet solace from her eye serene,
And raise his faltering trust that seems about to die;

'Tis true, he swerves not from the oath he swore,
Pledg'd to his bride, and Heaven's attested power ;
Yet deeper anguish loads each passing hour,
And barbs the pang too sorely felt before ;
That touching sight adds horrour to his doom !
For her he bleeds — hope dares no more presume —
If yet, a little longer yet, delay'd,
Comes not (ah ! whence shall come) unhop'd for aid,
With him, his wife and child sink hourly to the tomb.

And every day, for many a lingering week,
Exhausted Huon, time succeeding time,
Toil'd with slow footstep up the brow sublime,
And bending from the mountain's topmost peak
Strain'd his dim eye o'er ocean far and wide ;
But ah ! the weary wretch no vessel spy'd !
The gleam of hope that at the day-spring rose,
Set with the sun — from dawn till twilight close,
Before him ocean roll'd one vast unbroken tide.

One sole sad hope remain'd — despair alone
Forc'd the poor wretch to dare th' adventurous deed ;
Though danger threaten, and though death succeed,
Ah ! what to him who wastes in wilds unknown !
Fir'd by the thought his dauntless spirit glows-
Onward he hastes though death itself oppose !
One rocky barrier yet remain'd untried :
Enormous crags o'erhang its pathless side,
And seem from earthly foot forbidden ways to close.

Now urg'd to daring deeds by keen distress,
To climb the mountains seems a labour light ;
Love with fleet wing above the Alpine height
Waves his bright torch, and guides to sure success.
Each obstacle subdu'd, his dauntless mind
May o'er these low'ring crags a passage find —
Through nature's wild entrenchments force a way,
Where verdure blooms beneath a fairer day ;
Perchance where pity dwells the guest of human kind !

To save Amanda's heart a pang severe,
His lips th' impending danger still conceal —
Stern death encountered for their mutual weal ;
She, silent sufferer, inly drinks the tear :
What words, at parting, can their anguish tell !
Each faltering hp scarce breathes one last farewell:
Yet in his eye a dauntless spirit glows,
A nameless confidence that sooths her woes,
And bids reviving hope the clouds of grief dispel.

And now he stands beneath o'ershadowing crags
That low'r before him like a ruin'd world,
On every side in wild confusion hurl'd :
A shapeless chaos of extinguish'd slags,
'Where burst a mountain of volcanick fire;
With rocks, that, split by elemental ire,
In rude magnificence a thousand fold,
Here plunge, to the abyss ot Tartarus roll'd,
There lift their stormy brows, and high to heaven aspire !

Urg'd by despair he dares each peril brave —
Oft is he forc'd with desperate grasp, to climb
From crag to crag, the precipice sublime ;
While death beneath him points the yawning grave :
Now like a chamois, bound in airy flight:
And oft enormous fragments dark as night
Bar all access— he wanders back forlorn !
Oft with torn hand he grasps th' o'erhanging thorn-
That bows beneath the wretch, plung'd headlong from the height.

But when exhausted strength seems nearly fled,
Amanda's smile his flying soul recalls :
Does nature shrink, when danger most appals ?
Hope, at her image, lifts again its head —
Not unrewarded Huon's zeal remains,
Th' heroick youth just recompense obtains —
The pathway widening as his step ascends,
Smooth and more smooth before him gradual bends,
And seems to lead his foot to rest on peaceful plains !