Page:The works of Anna Laetitia Barbauld volume 1.djvu/403

Rh At length she rose complete in finished pride, All fair and spotless, like a virgin bride; Fresh with untarnished lustre as she stood, Her Maker blessed his work, and called it good; The morning- stars with joyful acclamation Exulting sang, and hailed the new creation. Yet this fair world, the creature of a day, Though built by God's right hand, must pass away; And long oblivion creep o'er mortal things, The fate of empires, and the pride of kings: Eternal night shall veil their proudest story, And drop the curtain o'er all human glory. The sun himself, with weary clouds opprest, Shall in his silent dark pavilion rest; His golden urn shall broke and useless lie, Amidst the common ruins of the sky; The stars rush headlong in the wild commotion, And bathe their glittering foreheads in the ocean.