Page:Poems - Southey (1799) volume 2.djvu/36

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Shot from the Dæmons, as they dragg'd alongThe unwelcome load, and mark'd their brethren glutOn carcasses.Below the vault dilatesIts ample bulk. "Look here!"—Despair addrestThe shuddering Virgin, "see the dome of Death!"It was a spacious cavern, hewn amidThe entrails of the earth, as tho' to formThe grave of all mankind: no eye could reach,Tho' gifted with the Eagle's ample ken,Its distant bounds. There, thron'd in darkness, dweltThe unseen Power of Death.Here stopt the Gouls,Reaching the destin'd spot. The Fiend leapt out,And from the coffin, as he led the Maid,Exclaim'd, "Where never yet stood mortal man,Thou standest: look around this boundless vault;Observe the dole that Nature deals to man,And learn to know thy friend."She not replied,
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