Page:The Seasons - Thomson (1791).djvu/135

 , slow-settling o'er the lurid grove Unusual darkness broods; and growing gains The full possession of the sky, surcharg'd With wrathful vapour, from the secret beds, Where sleep the mineral generations, drawn. Thence Niter, Sulphur, and the fiery spume Of fat Bitumen, steaming on the day, With various-tinctur'd trains of latent flame, Pollute the sky, and in yon baleful cloud, A reddening gloom, a magazine of fate, Ferment; till, by the touch etherial rous'd, The dash of clouds, or irritating war Of fighting winds, while all is calm below, They furious spring. A boding silence reigns, Dread thro' the dun expanse; save the dull sound, That from the mountain, previous to the storm, Rolls o'er the muttering earth, disturbs the flood, And shakes the forest-leaf without a breath. Prone, to the lowest vale, th' aërial tribes Descend: the tempest-loving raven scarce Dares wing the dubious dusk. In rueful gaze The cattle stand, and on the scowling heavens Cast a deploring eye; by Man forsook, Who to the crouded cottage hies him fast, Or seeks the shelter of the downward cave.

' listening fear, and dumb amazement all: When to the startled eye the sudden glance Appears far south, eruptive thro' the cloud; And following slower, in explosion vast, The thunder raises his tremendous voice. At first, heard solemn o'er the verge of heaven, The tempest growls; but as it nearer comes, And rolls its awful burden on the wind, The lightnings flash a larger curve, and more The