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Rh Swift as a thunderbolt ye come,

The unhappy relics to consume

Of fire, ye winds and waves!

O, Night! who may thy fearfulness,

Thy vast amount of woes express,

Without the tear it craves!

Yield to the cruel element

At length the ships, that long unbent

Its haughtiest rage defied;

Men sink yet living, and for e'er

Closes o'er them their sepulchre,

The insatiable tide.

Save him, Minerva! who around

From East to West, the earth's wide bound,

Was happier once thy care!

Urania, this thy votary save!

O, Love! how many fond hearts crave

That one's last sigh to share!

Some to their much-loved country swim,

That horror-struck retires, and dim

In quicksands seems to fly;

Hid by the waves them death unveils,

And to the wreck'd-worn seamen's wails

They only fierce reply.