Page:Joan of Arc - Southey (1796).djvu/341

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
BOOK THE NINTH.
329
And dragging a huge coffin as his car,Two Gouls came on, of form more fearful-foulThan ever palsied in her wildest dream 290Hag-ridden Superstition. Then DespairSeiz'd on the Maid, whose curdling blood stood still,And placed her in the seat; and on they pass'dAdown the deep descent. A meteor lightShot from the Dæmons, as they dragg'd along 295The unwelcome load, and mark'd their brethren glutOn carcasses.Below the vault dilates Its ample bulk. "Look here!"———Despair addrest The shuddering Virgin, "see the dome of Death!"It was a spacious cavern, hewn amid 300The entrails of the earth, as tho' to form The grave of all mankind: no eye could reach, Tho' gifted with the Eagle's ample ken, Its distant bounds. There, thron'd in darkness, dwelt The unseen Power of Death.Here stopt the Gouls, 305

Reaching

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.