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Alexander Chalmers.

The works of the English poets, from Chaucer to Cowper;

. (page 96 of 174)
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Shall peritfb, and for multitudes atone. '^



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VIRGIL'S JENEIS. BOOK Vl.



S9l



Thus liaTinf^ arm'd witit hopes her anxioiis mincl,
His finny tesm Saturnian Neptune joinM.
Then adds a foamy bridle to their jaws.
And to tike loosenM reins permits the laws*
High on the waves his azure car he jj^ides ;
Its'axles thunder, and the sea snbeides ;
And the smooth ocean rolls her silent tides.
The tempests fly before their father's fece ;
Trains ofinfenor gods his triumph grace ;
And monster whales before tbdr master play.
And choirs of Tritons crowd the watery way.
The martial powers in equal troops divide
To right and left : the gods his better side
Enclose, and on the worse the nymphs and nereids
Now smiling hope, with sweet vicissitude, [ride.
Within the hero's mind, his jojrs renewed.
He calls to raise the masts, the sheets display ;
The cheerful crew with diligence obey ;
They send before the wind, and sail in open sea*
A-head of all the master pilot steers,
And, as he leads, the following navy veers.
The steedaof night bad iravelFd half the sky,
The drowsy rowers on their benches lie ;
When the soft god of sleep, with easy flight.
Descends, and diaws behind a trail of light.
Thou, Palinnms, art his desthi'd prey j
To thee alone he takes his fotol way.
Bire-dreams to thee, and iron sleep, he bears ;
And, lighting on thy prow, the form of Phorbas
Then thus the traitor god began his tale : [wears.
** Jhe winds, my friend, inspire a pleasing ^e ;
The ships, without thy care, securely sail.
Now steal an hour of sweet repose; and I
Will take the rudder, and thy room supply."
To whom the yawning pilot, haK asleep :
*' Me dost thou bid to trust the treacherous deep !
The harlot smiles of her dissembling foce^
And to her foith <!ommit the Trojan race ?
Shall I believe the syren sonth again.
And, oft betray'd, not know the monster mahi ?''
He said, his fostenM hands the mdder keep.
And, fix*d on Heaven, his eyes n^ invading sleep.
The god was wroth, and at his temples threw
A branch in Lethe dipp'd, and drunk with Stygian
Tlie pilot, vanqoishM by the power divine, [dew :
Soon closed his swimming eyes, and lay supine.
Scarce were his limbs extended at their length.
The god, insulting with superior strength.
Fell heavy on him, phing'd him in the sea.
And, with the stem, the mdder tore away.
Headlong befell, and, struggling in the main,
Cry*d out for helping hands, but cry'd in vain :
The victor demon mounts obscure in air ;
While the ship sails without the pilot's care.
On Neptune's faith the floating fleet relies :
But what the man forsook, the god supplies ;
And •^er the dangerous deep secure the navy flies :
Glides by the syren's cli£b, a sheify coast.
Long infamous for ships and sailors lost ;
And white with bones : th' impetuous ocean roars ;
And rocks rebellow from resounding shores.
The watchful hero felt the knocks ; and found
The tossing vessel sail'd on shoaly ground.
Si|re of his pilot's loss, he takes himself
The helm, and steers aloof, and shuns the shelf.
Inly he griev'd, and, groaning f^rom the breast,
Beplor'd his death ; and thus his pain expressed :
" For 6uth reposM on seas, and on the flattering sky,
Iby naked corpse as doom'd on shores unki^wn
tojie."



TRB SIXTH BOdK 0>

THE JkSEIS.



THE AtCtMlNt.

The Sibyl foretels iBneas the adventures he should
meet with in Italy : she attends him to Hell :
describing to him the various scenes of thai
place, and conducting him to his father An*
chises : who instructs him in those siiblime mys-
teries of the soul of the world, and the trans-
migration : and shows him that glorious race of
heroes which was to descend from him and bis
posterity. /

Hs said, and wept : then spread his sajls before
1*he winds, and reached at len.{th the Cuman shore :
Their anchors dropt, bjs crew the vessels naoor.
They turn their h^s to sea, their sterus to tand j
And greet, with greedy joy, th* Italian strand.
Some strike from clashing flints their fiery seed ;
Some gather sticks the kindled flames to feed ;
Or search for hollow trees, and fell the woods.
Or trace through vallies the discovered floods.
Thus, while their several charges they fulfil.
The pious prince ascends the sacred bill
Where Phoebus is ador'd, and seekji ihe shale
Which hides from sight his venerable maid.
Deep in a cave the Sibyl makes abode ;
Thence full of fste returns, and of the god.
Thro* Trivia*s grove they walk ; and now behold.
And enter now the temple roofd with gold.
Wnen Daedalus, to fly the Cretan shore.
His heavy limbs on jointed pinions bore,
(The firftt who sail'd in air) 'tis sung by fainey
To the Cumaean coast at length be came ;
And here alighting, built this costly frame.
Inscribed to Pbcebos, here be hung on high
The steerage of his wings, that cuts the sky ;
Then o*er the lofty gate his art emboas'd
Androgeos' death, and offerings to his ghost-:
Seven youths from Athens yearly sent, to meet
The fate appointed by revengeful Crete.
And next, to those the dreadful urn was plac'd.
In which the destin'd names by lots were cast :
The mournful parents stand around in tears ;
And rising Crete against their shore appears.
There too, in living sculpture, might be seen
The mad affection of the Cretan queen :
Then how she cheats her bellowing lover's eye :
The rushing leap, the doubtful progeny.
The lower port a beast, a man above,
The monument of their polluted lovOi
Nor far from thence he grav'd the wondrous maze ;
A thousand doors, a thousand winding ^ays ;
Here dwells the monster, hid from human view^
Not to be found but by the faithful clue :
Till the kind artist, mov'd with pious grief,
Lent to the loving maid this la<«t relief;
And all those erring patlis desorib'd so well.
That Theseus conquer'd, and the monster felL
Here hspless Icarus had found bis part ;
Had not the father's grief restrain'd his art.
He twice essayM to ca t his son in gold ;
Twice from his hands he dropp'd the fbnoiDf
mould*



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DRYDEN*S TRANSLATIONS.



All this with wondering eyes JEneas Ttcw'd :
Each varying ol:^ect his delight reoew'd.
Eager to read the rest, Achates came,
And by bis side tbtt mad diyining dame ;
1 he priestess of the god, Deiphobe her name.
•* Time sufiers not,** she said, " to feed your eyes
With empty pleasures : haste the sacrifice.
Seven bullocks yet unyokM, for Phoebus choose.
And for Diana seven unspotted ewes.''
This said, the servants urge the sacred rites j
While to th« temple she the prince invites.
A spacious cave, within its farmost part,
Was hewM and fashionM by laborious art
Through the hilPs hollow sides : before the place,
A hundred doors, a hundred entries grvce :
Am many voices issue ; and the sound
Of Sibyls' words as many tiroes rebound.
Kow to the mouth they oome : aloud »he cries,
** This is the time; inquire your destinies.
He corner, behold the god V' Thus while she said
(And shivering at the sacred entry staid).
Her colour chang'd, her face was not the same,
And hollow groans from her deep spirit came.
Her hair stood up ; convulsive rage possessed
Her trembling limbs, and heav'd her labouring

breast
Greater than human-kind she seem'd to look :
And, with an accent more than mortal, spoke.
Her (taring eyes with sparicling fiiry roll ;
When all the god came rushing on her soul.
Swiftly she tuniM, and foaming as she spoke.
" Why this delay ?" she cried j " the powers in<
Thy prayers alone can open this abode, [vokc
Klse vain are my demands, and dumb the god."
She said no more : the trembriog Trojans hear ;
O'erspread with a damp sweat, and holy fear.
The prince himself, with awfiil dread posaess'd.
His VOW'S to great Apollo thns addrea'd :
^ Indulgent god, propitious power to Troy,
Swift to relieve, unwilling ta destroy ;
Directed by whose hand, the Dardan dart
Pierc'd the proud Grecian's only morUl part :
Thus far, by fate's decrees, and thy commands,
Through ambient seas, and through devouring

sands,
Our exil'd crew has sought th» Ausonian ground j
And now, at length, the flying coast is found ;
Thus far ^e fate of Troy, from place to place.
With fury has pursued her wandering race :
Here cease, ye powers, and let your vengeance

end;
Troy it no more, and can no more offend.
And thou, O sacred maid ! inspired to see
Th' event of things in dark futnrity,
Give me, what Heaven has promised to^my fate,
To conquer and command the Latian state :
To fix my ^vandering gods, and find a place
yorthe long ^xlles of the Trojan rtice.
Then shall my gratcfVil hands a temple rear
To»th« twin gods, with voWs and solemn prayer ',
And annual rites, and festivals, and games.
Shall be performed to their auspicious names ^
Nor ^halt thou want thy honours in my land,
For there thy faithful oracles shall stand,
Preserv'd in shrines: and every sacred lay,
Which, by thy mouth, Apolk) shall convey ;
All shall ^ treasured, by a chosen train
Of holy priests, and ever shall remain.
But, oh I commknot thy prophetic mind
To flitjtinf leaves, the sport ^ every wind.



Lett they dispense in air dw etAptf fate :

Write not, but, what the powers ordain, rdate.**

Struggling in vaii^ impatient of ber load.
And labouring underneath the ponderous god.
The mqre she strove to shake him from her breasCy
With more, and far superior force, he pi^na'di
Commands his entrance, and, without control.
Usurps ^r organs, and inspires her sooL
Now, with a fuitous blast, the hundred dooit
Ope ,of themselves -, a rushing whiriwiod roars
Withiu the cave; and Sibyl's voice restores :
** Kscap'd the dangers of the watery reign.
Yet more and greater ills, by land remain ;
The coast so long desir'd (nor doubt th' event)
Thy Uoops shall reach, but having reached, re-
pent.
Wacs, horrid wacs, I view; a field of blood ;
And Tyber rolling with a purple flood.
Simois nor Xanthus shall be wanting there ;
A new Achilles shall in arras appear :
And he, too, goddess-born : fierce Juno'ft hate.
Added to hostile force, shall urge thy fate. '
To what strange nations ahalt net thou resort !
Driven to solicit aid at every court !
I'hc cause the same which Ilium once oppressed,
A foreign mistress and a foreign guest •
But thou, secure of soul, unbent with woes.
The more thy foriune frowns, the more oppose:
The dawnings of thy safety shall be shown.
From whence thou least sfaalt hope, a Grecian
town."
Thus, from the dark recess, the Sibyl spoke.
And the resisting air the thunder broke ;
The cave rebel low'd, and the temple shook.
Th' ambiguous god, who rul'd her labouring breast^
In these mysterious words his mind exprest :
'* Some truths re\'eal'd, in terms involved the rest"
At length ber fury fell, her foaming ceas'd.
And, ebbing in her soul, the god decreas'd.
Then thus the ahief : " No terrour to my view.
No frightful face of danger can be new :
Inur'd to suffer, and resolv'd to dare,
The fates, without my power, shall be without my

care.
This let me crate, since near your grove the road
To Hell lies open, and the dark abode ^

''Which Acheron surrounds, th' innavigable flood :
Conduct me through the regions void of light.
And lead me longing to my father's sight :
For him, a thousand dangcis I have sought;
And, rushing where the thickest Grecians fought.
Safe un my back the saored btfrden brought.
He, for my sake, the raging ocean try'd
And wrath of Heaven, my still auspicious guide.
And bore beyond the strength decrepit age sop*

ply'd.
Oft since he breathed his last, m dead of night,
His reverend image stood before my sight ; -
Etijoin'd to seek below his holy shade;
Conducted therp by yonr uneiiing aid :
But you, if pious minds by prayers are woo.
Oblige the father, and protect the son.
Yours is the power ; nor Proserproe in vahi
Has made you priesto^ of her nightly reign.
If Orpheus, arm'd with his enchanting lyre,
Tht ruthless king with pity ooukl inspire.
And fVom the shades below redeem bis wii^ |
If Pollux, ofl^ng his alternate life.
Could tVee his brother, and can daily go
By turns aloft, by turns descend below :



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VJRGIVS ^NEIS. BOOK VI.



sd^



\Vby name I Tbcsent, oriiis gregier friend,
Who (K>d tbe downward path, and upward could

aicead!
Volt less than theirs, from Jove my lineage came :
My mother greater, my descent the same."
So pray'd the Trqjan prioce ; and, while he pray*d,
His hand upon the holy altar laid.
Then t^us replyM the prophetess divine :
** O goddesft-born ! of great Anehises' line,
Th^ gates of Hell are open night and day :
Smooth the descent, and easy is the way:
Bat to return,, and view the cheerful skies.
In this the task and mighty labour lies.
To fe^ great Jupiter imparts this grace,
Aad those of shioing worth, and heavenly race.
Betwixt those regions, and our upper light.
Deep forests and impenetrable night
Possess the middle «pace. Th' infernal boundt
Cocytus, with his sable waves, surrounds :
But, if so dire a love your soul invades,
M twice below to view the trembliog shades ;
K yoo so hard a toil will undertake.
As twice to pass th' innavigable lake,
Beceive my counseL In the neighbouring grore
There stands a tree : the queen of Stygian Jove
Claims it her own ; thick woods and gloomy night
Conceal the happy plant from human sight.
One bough itb^rs; but, wondrous tu behold.
The ductile rind, and leaves, of radiant gold:
This from the vulgar branclM« must be torn.
And te fair Prostfrpinc the present borne,
Ere leave be given to tempt the nether skies:
The fu^ thus rent, a second will arise.
And th< same metal the same room supplies.
Look round the wood, with lifted eyes to see
The lurking gold upon the fatal tree :
TBen rend lioS, as holy rites command;
The wiiliog metal will obey thy hand.
Following with ease, if, favoured by thy fate,
1*hou art foredoom^ to view the Stygian state:
If not, no labour can the tree constrain,
And strength of stubborn arms, and steel are vain.
Besides, you know not, while you here attend,
Th' unworthy fate of your unhappy friend :
Bresthless he lies, and bis unbury'd ghost,
l)epriv'd of funeral rites, pollutes your host
Pay first his pious dues : and, for the dead.
Two sable sheep arouocl his hearse be led :
Then, living turf* upon his body lay ;
This done, securely take the destined way,
To find the regiooi» destitute of day.'* .
She said : and held her peace. i£oeas went
Sad from the cave, and full of discontent;
Unknowing whom the sacrwl Sibyl meant
Achates, the companion of his breast,
^ots grieving by his side with equal cares oppressed.
Walking they Ulk'd, and fruitlessly divin'd
What friend the priest<-ts3, by those words, design^ :
But 8oon tbey found an obiect to deplore ;
^Jsenus lay exteodetl ou the shore ;
Son of the god of winds ; none so renown'd.
The warr^r trumpet in the field to sound :
With breathing bra««s to kiudle tierce alarms.
And rouse to dare their late in honourable arms.^
He scrvM great Hector ; and was ever near,
^ot with his trumpet only, but his spear.
But, by Pelideb' arm when Hector fejl,
He chose .^leas, and he chose as well.
Swola \*ith applause, and aiming still at more,
He now provokes the sea-^^vds from the shore ;



With envy Triton heard the marthil sound.

And the bold champion, for his challenge, drown'd*

Th^ cast his mangled carcase on the strand i

The gazing crowd around the body stand.

All weep, but most iEneas nMHirns his fate.

And hastens to perform the fiineral state.

In altar-wise a stately pile they rear ;

The basis broad below, and top advanced in tir.

An ancient wood, 6t for the work design'd

(The shady covert of the savage kind)

The Trojadi foond : the sounding ax n ply»d :

Firs, pines, and pitch-trees, and the towering prid^

Of forest ashes, feel the fatal stroke,

And piereing wedges cleave the stubborn oak.

Huge trunks of trees, fell'd from the steepy crowtt

Of the. bare mountains, roll with ruin down.

ArmM like the rest the Trojan prince appears.

And, by his pious labour, urges theirs.

Thus while he wrought, revolvnog in his mind

The 'ways to compass what his wish design'd.

He cast his eyes upon the gloomy grove,

And then, with vowt, implor'd the queen of lores

" O may thy power, propitious still to me,

Conduct my steps to find the fatal tree,

In this deepibrest; smce the Sibyl's breath

Pbretold, alas ! too true, Miaenus* death."

Scarce had b* ^^f when, full beftMre his sight.

Two dores, descending from their airy flight.

Secure upon the grassy plain alight

He knew his mother's birds ; and thus he pray'd :

'' Be you my goides, with lonr auspicious aid ;

And lead my footsteps, till the branch be fmnd.

Whose glittering shadow gilds the sacred ground :

And thou, great parent ! with celestial care,

In this diftresa, be present to my pra3rer."

Thus having said, he stoppM : with watofaftil s^ht

Qbservhog still the motions of their flight.

What course they took, what happy sigas they

shew :
They fed, and, fluttering, by decreet withdrew
Still farther from the place, but still in view:
Hopping, and flying, thus they led him on
To the slow lake : whose baleful stench to shun.
They wing'd their flight aloft; then stooping low,
PerchM on the double tree, that bears the golden

bough.
Through the green leaves the glittering shadows
As on the sacred oak, the wintery misletoe : [glow ;
Where the proud mother views her precioos brood ^
And happier branches, which she never sow'd.
Such was the glittering, such the ruddy rind.
And dancing leaves, thatwantonM in the wind.
He selz'd the shininz bough with griping hold
And rent away, with ease, the lidgtaring gold ;
Then to the Sibyl's palace bore the prize.
Meantime, the Trojap troops, with weeping eyes.
To dead Misenus pay his obseqtiieg.
Pint from the grotmd a lofty pile they rear.
Of pitch-trees, oaks, and pines, and nnctoons fir:
The fabric's fVont, with cypress twigs they strew.
And stick the sides with boughs of baleful yew.
The topmost part, his glittering arms adorn;
Warm waters, then, iu brazen cauldrons borne.
Are pour'd to (vash \m body, joint by joint :
And fragrant oils the sttflTenM limbs anoint
With groans and cries Misenos they deplore :
Then on a bier, with parple covcr'd o'er,
The breathless body, thus bewait'd, they lay,
And Ore the pile, tht ir faces tum'd away '

(Such reverend rites their fathers ns'd to psy).



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400



DRYbEN'S TliANSLAfiONS.



Pure oil an^ incente on the fire they throw,
And fat of victims, which bis fricods bestow.
These gifts, the greedy flames to dust derour ;
Then, ad the iiviog coals, red wine they pour:
And last, the 'relics by themselves diipose^
Which in a brazen urn the priests enclote^
Old Chorineus oompassM thrice the tre^,
AnddippM an olive branch in holy dew ;
Which thrice he sprinkled round, and thrice tkod
Invok'd the dead, and then dismissed the crowd.

Jlut tood iEneas order'd on the shore
A itatety tomb ; whose top a trumpet bote;
A soldier's falchion, and a seaman's oar. ^
Thus was bis friend interrM : and deatb1c« finme
Still to the lofty cape consigns his name.

lliese rites perftirm'd, the prince, without delay,
Hastes to the nether world his destio'd way.
Deep was the cape ; and downward as it went
Front the wide month, a rocky rough descent ;
And here th' access a gloomy grore descends ;
And here th* unnaTigable lake extends."
Cer whose unhappy waters, void of light,
No bird presumes to steer his airy flight;
Such deadly stenches from the depth arise.
And steaming splphur, that infects the skies.
From hence the Gfectan bards their legends make,
And give the name Avemus to the lake.
Four sable bullocks, in tlie yoke untaught.
For sacrifice the piotks hero brought ;
The priestesff pours the wine betwixt their horns;
Then cuts the curling hair; that first oblation
Invoking Hecate hither to repair [bums,

(A powerful name in Hell, and upper air).
The sacred priests with ready knives bereave
The beasts of life, and in full bowls receive
The streaming blood : a lamb to Hell and Night
(The sable wool without a streak of white)
iEncas offers : and, by fate's decree,
A barren heifer, Proserpme, to thee.
With holdcausts he Pluto's altar filb:
Seven brawny bulls with bis own band he kills:
Then, on the broiling entrails, oil he pours ;
Which, ointedthus, the raging flame devours:
Late, the nocturnal sacrifice bq^un ;
Kor ended, till the next retummg Sun.
Then earth began to bellow, trees to dance.
And howling dogs in glimmering light advance.
Ere Hecate<»me: " Far hence be souls profane,"
The Sibyl cry'd, ** and from the grove abstain.
Now, Th)jan, take the way thy fates afford.
Assume thy courage, and unsbeath thy sword.**
She said, and pass*d along the gloomy space,
The prince pursued her steps with equal pace.
Ye realms, yet unreveal'd to human sight.
Ye gods, who rule the regions of the night.
Ye gliding ghosts, permit me to relatie
The mystic wondm of your sileflt state.

Obscure they went through dreary shades, that
Along the waste dominions of the deiid : [led

Thus wander travellers in woods by night,
By the Moon's doubtful and malignant light r
When Jove in dusky clouds involves the skies,
Aod the faint crescent shoott by fiU before tbef r
Just in the gate, and in the jaws of Hell, [eyes.
Kereogeful Cares and sullen Sorrows dwell;
And pale Diseases, and repining Age;
Wan Pear, and Famine'i unre^ited rage": .
Here Toils, and Death, and Death's half4rother,

Sleep,
Form terrible to view^ their cantrykacip:



With anxious Pleasures of a guilty minu.

Deep Frauds before, autt open Force behiniff

The Furies' iron heds, and Strife that shakes

Her hissing tresses, and unfolds her snakes.

Full in the midst of this tnfefnal road,

Ari elm di^lajrs her dusky arms abroad : ^

The god of Sleep there hide^ his heav^ bead.

And empty dreams on eiery leaf ar^ spread.

Of various forms umiombef'd spectre^ more ;

Centaurs, and d6iff^e Shapes, besiege the dwfri

Before the passa^ honrid Hydra kaodtt.

And BriaKus with illl his hundred Hands' :

Oorgons, Geryon with his tri^e frame.

And vain Chimsera vomits empty flame.'

The ehlcfunsheath'd his shining steel, prepaf'^.

Though seiz'd with sudden fear^ to force the i^uard;

Offering his brandifh'd weapon at their face.

Had not the Sibyl stopp'd his eager, pace.

And told him what those empty phantoms were :

Forms without bodies, and impassive air.

Hence to deep Acheron they take iheir way.

Whose troubled eddied, thick wfth ooze and c\af.

Are whirrd aloft, and in Cocytns \osi i

There Charon sUnds, who rules the dreary coasts

A sordid god; down from his hoary ditn

A length of beard descends : uncornVd, uncleaii $

His eyes, like hollow furnaces on fire ;

A girdle, foul with grease, binds his obscene attirei.

He spreads his canvass, with his pole he steers ;

The freights of flitting ghosts m his thin bottoni^

bears.
He look'd in years ; yet in his years were seen
A youthful vigour, and autumnal green.
An airy crowd came rushing where he stood.
Which fill'd the margin of the fatal fiood.
Husbands and wives, bojrs and unmarcy'd maid^.
And mighty heroes' more majestk: shades.
And youths, intomb'd before thehr fathers' eyes.
With hollow *groans,and shrieks, and feeble cries f
Thick as the leaves in autdmn strow the woods.
Or fowls, by winter forc'd, forsake the floods.
And wing their hasty flights to happier lands :
Such, and so thick, the shiverins army stands.
And press fbr passage with extended hands.

Now these, now those, the suriy boatman bore j
The rest he drove to distance from the shore.
The hero, who beheld, with wondering ayes.
The tumult mix*d with shrieks, laments, and dies,
Ask'd of his guide, what the rude concourse

meant?
Why to the shore the thronging people bent ?
What forms of law among the ghosts were ns'd }
Why some were ferry'd o'er, and some refus'd ?

** Son of Anchises, oApiingof thegods,"
The Sibyl said, '* you see the Stygian floods.
The sacred streams, which Heaven's imperial state
Attest in oaths, and fears to violate.
The ghosts rejected, are th' unhappy crew
Depriv'd of sepulchres, and funeral due.
The boatman Charon ; those, the bory'd host,
Ht ferries over to the farther coast
Nor dares his transport vessel cross the wares.
With such whose Ixmes are not compos'd in graves.
A hundred years they wander on the shore.
At length, their penance done, are wafted o'er.**
The Trojan chief his forward pace repress'd ;
Revolving anxious thoughts withhi his breast
He saw his friends, who, whelm'd beneath the
waves, (graves.


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