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255
Disastrous effects. A storm at Malvern in 1826. A young party of friends overtaken by it. Its effects. The Knell
Ah, hapless they, expos'd to bide,
On the lone heath, or forest-side,
Or mountain shelterless and drear,
The pelting of such storm severe!
More hapless, if unwise they seek
A shelter insecure and weak,
To the frail cot or leafy wood
By that relentless storm pursued!
On the lone heath, or forest-side,
Or mountain shelterless and drear,
The pelting of such storm severe!
More hapless, if unwise they seek
A shelter insecure and weak,
To the frail cot or leafy wood
By that relentless storm pursued!
Such haples lot 'twas theirs to prove,
A friendly band, in league of love
United, by the halcyon day
Allur'd in joyousness to stray,
Where Malvern's beacon-crested crown
Here looks on ridgy woodlands down,
Orchards with blushing fruitage stor'd,
And mountain zone of Hereford;
There on fair Worcester's pastur'd leas,
And, bosom'd in the tufted trees,
Of antique grace the village fane,
The lordly abbot's whilome reign.
Pure was the air, the day was bright,
As form'd for joyance and delight:
In joyance and delight they climb,
In health's fresh bloom and youthful prime,
The zigzag path's slow mountain way,
And o'er the grassy greensward stray.
Sudden, black clouds involve the sky:
The storm's at hand: alarm'd they fly
To yon lone hut, their sole defence,
The gift of kind beneficence
To those who on the mountain's crest
Might seek the wearied limb to rest,
Or with rich view of hill and mead
Below the wandering eyesight feed.
A friendly band, in league of love
United, by the halcyon day
Allur'd in joyousness to stray,
Where Malvern's beacon-crested crown
Here looks on ridgy woodlands down,
Orchards with blushing fruitage stor'd,
And mountain zone of Hereford;
There on fair Worcester's pastur'd leas,
And, bosom'd in the tufted trees,
Of antique grace the village fane,
The lordly abbot's whilome reign.
Pure was the air, the day was bright,
As form'd for joyance and delight:
In joyance and delight they climb,
In health's fresh bloom and youthful prime,
The zigzag path's slow mountain way,
And o'er the grassy greensward stray.
Sudden, black clouds involve the sky:
The storm's at hand: alarm'd they fly
To yon lone hut, their sole defence,
The gift of kind beneficence
To those who on the mountain's crest
Might seek the wearied limb to rest,
256
Below the wandering eyesight feed.
O'erjoy'd they hail the welcome seat:
They sit: they hear the tempest beat,
As fiercer and more fierce it grows.
Exulting in their safe repose,
They hear the thunder's rattling sound;
Far off along the flaming ground
They see the fire careering run:—
But whither?—Ask no more: 'tis done,—
What heart can hear, nor hearing bleed?—
The piteous, strange, distressful deed!
They sit: they hear the tempest beat,
As fiercer and more fierce it grows.
Exulting in their safe repose,
They hear the thunder's rattling sound;
Far off along the flaming ground
They see the fire careering run:—
But whither?—Ask no more: 'tis done,—
What heart can hear, nor hearing bleed?—
The piteous, strange, distressful deed!
Four youthful forms the tempest caught:
Four youthful forms the refuge sought
Safe reckon'd of that mountain seat:
Forth issuing from their joint retreat,
Two, only two, appear to tell
The story; and to-morrow's knell
Their partners to their kindred earth,
Late full of love, and youth, and mirth,
Ah, lovely now no more! shall trust,
“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust!”
Four youthful forms the refuge sought
Safe reckon'd of that mountain seat:
Forth issuing from their joint retreat,
Two, only two, appear to tell
The story; and to-morrow's knell
Their partners to their kindred earth,
Late full of love, and youth, and mirth,
Ah, lovely now no more! shall trust,
“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust!”
Toll for the Young! through whom hath past
With subtle touch the electrick blast!
The spirits to their God are fled:
Their bodies prostrate lie and dead;
But scarce a spot is there to show
The passage of the fatal blow!
With subtle touch the electrick blast!
The spirits to their God are fled:
Their bodies prostrate lie and dead;
But scarce a spot is there to show
The passage of the fatal blow!
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Toll for the Young! They little knew,
When their lov'd home they bade adieu,
That brief adieu would be the last!—
They little knew, the day, that cast
About their path so clear a light,
Would whelm them in impervious night!
When their lov'd home they bade adieu,
That brief adieu would be the last!—
They little knew, the day, that cast
About their path so clear a light,
Would whelm them in impervious night!
Toll for the Young! Their kindred kind,
Hopes, joys, affections left behind!
Yet was the pang of parting light,
A moment wing'd the spirit's flight;
And scarce, as past the fleeting breath,
They felt “the bitterness of death!”
Hopes, joys, affections left behind!
Yet was the pang of parting light,
A moment wing'd the spirit's flight;
And scarce, as past the fleeting breath,
They felt “the bitterness of death!”
Then rather be the death bell toll'd
For the lost comfort of the old!
For them, whose hearts expecting yearn
To see the chariot wheels return,
Which bore their children on their way,
All youthful, healthful, joyous, gay!
For the lost comfort of the old!
For them, whose hearts expecting yearn
To see the chariot wheels return,
Which bore their children on their way,
All youthful, healthful, joyous, gay!
Alas! along the darken'd road,
Charg'd with its melancholy load,
Soon shall in solemn pomp appear
The plumed hearse, the pall-clad bier.
Toll for the Old! They ne'er shall strain
Their children to their breast again!
Charg'd with its melancholy load,
Soon shall in solemn pomp appear
The plumed hearse, the pall-clad bier.
Toll for the Old! They ne'er shall strain
Their children to their breast again!
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