Page:Fears in Solitude - Coleridge (1798).djvu/11

 And weighs upon the heart, that he must think What uproar and what strife may now be stirring This way or that way o'er these silent hills— Invasion, and the thunder and the shout, And all the crash of onset; fear and rage And undetermined conflict—even now, Ev'n now, perchance, and in his native Isle, Carnage and screams beneath this blessed sun! We have offended, O my countrymen! We have offended very grievously, And have been tyrannous. From east to west A groan of accusation pierces heaven! The wretched plead against us, multitudes Countless and vehement, the sons of God, Our brethren! like a cloud that travels on, Steam'd up from Cairo's swamps of pestilence, Ev'n so, my countrymen! have we gone forth And borne to distant tribes slavery and pangs, And, deadlier far, our vices, whose deep taint With slow perdition murders the whole man, His body and his soul! Meanwhile, at home, We have been drinking with a riotous thirst