Page:Betelguese, a trip through hell.djvu/63

Rh Of Satan and each prowling gnome.

Their toes are screwed and eyes are bored,

Their ears are shorn and lips are split,

Each head is cracked, all tongues are cut,

By vypers red and bloody ghouls.

Affrighted as the dames are gored,

Each Sybarite his teeth doth grit,

The huddled pirates in a hut,

Shriek help unto the roaring pools.

And moaning airs their sorrows tell

That some unfathomed force hath bred.

Night-hawks rasp sins of women, men,

Who sold their honour, soul and name.

And tower'd screes that pierce giant hell

Are treasure-houses for the dead:

Each rich man writhes within a den,

Society dames proclaim their shame.

And offal, shard and putrid dung,

Is by affluent daughters born.

When in the ribboned mists above

A beacon flares and torches burn,