The miscellaneous works of David Humphreys Late Minister Plenipotentiary from the United States of America to the Court of Madrid |
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 | The miscellaneous works of David Humphreys |  |
The battle closes—fiercer fights begin—
And hollow hulls reverberate the din:
The green waves blacken as the tempest lours,
Chain-bolts and langrage rain in dreadful show'rs;
Ship dash'd on ship upheaves the flashing flood,
The black sides wrapt in flame, the decks in blood:
From both the lines now smoke, now flames aspire,
Now clouds they roll, now gleam a ridge of fire:
On hostile prows Columbia's heroes stand,
Conqu'ring 'mid death, or dying sword in hand;
Promiscuous cries, with shouts confus'dly drown'd
In the wild uproar, swell the dol'rous sound:
And naught distinct is heard, and naught is seen
Where wreaths of vapour hov'ring intervene;
Save when black grains expand imprison'd air,
The thunder wake and shoot a livid glare;
Then ghastly forms are seen by transient gleams,
The dead and wounded drench'd in purple streams.
And hollow hulls reverberate the din:
The green waves blacken as the tempest lours,
Chain-bolts and langrage rain in dreadful show'rs;
Ship dash'd on ship upheaves the flashing flood,
The black sides wrapt in flame, the decks in blood:
From both the lines now smoke, now flames aspire,
Now clouds they roll, now gleam a ridge of fire:
On hostile prows Columbia's heroes stand,
Conqu'ring 'mid death, or dying sword in hand;
Promiscuous cries, with shouts confus'dly drown'd
In the wild uproar, swell the dol'rous sound:
And naught distinct is heard, and naught is seen
Where wreaths of vapour hov'ring intervene;
Save when black grains expand imprison'd air,
The thunder wake and shoot a livid glare;
Then ghastly forms are seen by transient gleams,
The dead and wounded drench'd in purple streams.
| The miscellaneous works of David Humphreys | |