Page:The castle of Indolence - an allegorical poem - Written in imitation of Spenser (IA castleofindolenc00thomiala).pdf/24

 As when a Shepherd of the Hebrid-Isles, Plac'd far amid the melancholy Main, (Whether it be lone Fancy him beguiles; Or that aerial Beings sometimes deign To stand, embodied, to our Senses plain) Sees on the naked Hill, or Valley low, The whilst in Ocean Phœbus dips his , A vast Assembly moving to and fro:

Ye Gods of Quiet, and of Sleep profound! Whose soft Dominion o'er the Castle sways, And all the widely-silent Places round, Forgive me, if my trembling Pen displays What never yet was sung in mortal Lays. But how shall I attempt such arduous String? I who have spent my Nights and nightly Days, In this Soul-deadening Place, loose-loitering?