Page:Hemans Miscellaneous Poetry 3.pdf/9



"O daring band!" he cried, "far, far more bold Than all whose deeds recording fame has told; Adventurous spirits! whom no bounds of fear Can teach one pause in rapine's fierce career; Since, bursting thus the barriers of the main, Ye dare to violate my lonely reign, Where, till this moment, from the birth of time, No sail e'er broke the solitude sublime: Since thus ye pierce the veil by Nature thrown O'er the dark secrets of the Deep Unknown, Ne'er yet reveal'd to aught of mortal birth, Howe'er supreme in power, unmatch'd in worth— Hear from my lips what chastisements of fate, Rash, bold intruders! on your course await! What countless perils, woes of darkest hue, Haunt the vast main and shores your arms must yet subdue!

"Know that o'er every bark, whose fearless helm Invades, like yours, this wide mysterious realm, Unmeasured ills my arm in wrath shall pour, And guard with storms my own terrific shore! And on the fleet, which first presumes to brave The dangers throned on this tempestuous wave, Shall vengeance burst, ere yet a warning fear, Have time to prophesy destruction near!

"Yes, desperate band! if right my hopes divine, Revenge, fierce, full, unequall'd, shall be mine! Urge your bold prow, pursue your venturous way— Pain, Havoc, Ruin, wait their destined prey! And your proud vessels, year by year, shall find (If no false dreams delude my prescient mind) My wrath so dread in many a fatal storm, Death shall be deem'd misfortune's mildest form. ......   "Lo! where my victim comes!—of noble birth, Of cultured genius, and exalted worth, With her,1 his best beloved, in all her charms, Pride of his heart, and treasure of his arms! From foaming waves, from raging winds they fly, Spared for revenge, reserved for agony! Oh! dark the fate that calls them from their home, On this rude shore, my savage reign, to roam, And sternly saves them from a billowy tomb, For woes more exquisite, more dreadful doom! —Yes! he shall see the offspring, loved in vain, Pierced with keen famine, die in lingering pain; Shall see fierce Caffres every garment tear, From her, the soft, the idolised, the fair; Shall see those limbs, of nature's finest mould, Bare to the sultry sun, or midnight cold,