Page:Poems - Southey (1799) volume 2.djvu/91

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Unwonted feelings stirr'd, and the first pangsOf wakening guilt, anticipating Hell.The eye of Zillah as it glanced aroundFell on the murderer once, but not in wrath;And therefore like a dagger it had fallen,Had struck into his soul a cureless wound.Conscience! thou God within us! not in the hourOf triumph, dost thou spare the guilty wretch,Not in the hour of infamy and deathForsake the virtuous! they draw near the stake—And lo! the torch! hold hold your erring hands!Yet quench the rising flames!—they rise! they spread!They reach the suffering Maid! oh God protectThe innocent one!They rose, they spread, they raged—The breath of God went forth; the ascending fireBeneath its influence bent, and all its flamesIn one long lightning flash collecting fierce,Darted and blasted Hamuel—him alone.Hark—what a fearful scream the multitude
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