Israel in Egypt A Poem. By Edwin Atherstone |
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 | Israel in Egypt |  |
But when, with trembling, men 'gan issue forth,
And walk abroad,—destruction terrible
On all sides round they saw. Dead men, and beasts,—
All flesh that from the field had not been brought,—
Stiff, crushed, and battered, lay: birds of all wing,
Sparrow, and eagle alike;—from sheltered nook,
Or lofty eyry mid the far-off hills,
Blown forth, and smitten: trees by the roots dragged up;
Or snapped in the midst; or, branchless, leaning down:
Bushes, and plants, and all grain that had sprung,—
As by a harrow, torn from out the ground,
And utterly destroyed.
And walk abroad,—destruction terrible
On all sides round they saw. Dead men, and beasts,—
All flesh that from the field had not been brought,—
Stiff, crushed, and battered, lay: birds of all wing,
Sparrow, and eagle alike;—from sheltered nook,
Or lofty eyry mid the far-off hills,
Blown forth, and smitten: trees by the roots dragged up;
Or snapped in the midst; or, branchless, leaning down:
Bushes, and plants, and all grain that had sprung,—
As by a harrow, torn from out the ground,
And utterly destroyed.
A voice of wail
Went quickly through the land. Many cried out,
Cursing the Israelites,—through whom had come
Such bitter woes: but many on the king
Cast censure; saying that, obstinate and proud,
And faithless to his promise, he himself
Those ills had brought on Egypt; the great power
Of Hebrew magic, or of Israel's God,
Defying still, though, by six fearful Plagues,
Might he have learned that, 'gainst it, all his strength
Mere breath was, 'gainst the everlasting rock.
Went quickly through the land. Many cried out,
Cursing the Israelites,—through whom had come
Such bitter woes: but many on the king
Cast censure; saying that, obstinate and proud,
And faithless to his promise, he himself
Those ills had brought on Egypt; the great power
Of Hebrew magic, or of Israel's God,
Defying still, though, by six fearful Plagues,
Might he have learned that, 'gainst it, all his strength
Mere breath was, 'gainst the everlasting rock.
| Israel in Egypt | |