 | Poems by Three Friends |  |
78
DESCRIPTION OF A STORMY NIGHT.
IMITATED FROM OSSIAN.
The distant storm is raving still
Among the rocks of Inisfail;
The firs are fallen on the hill,
The hut is shattered in the vale.
Among the rocks of Inisfail;
The firs are fallen on the hill,
The hut is shattered in the vale.
But now the scattered clouds are fled,
Heaven's burning stars disclose their light;
And the pale meteor of the dead,
Flies sparkling thro' the gloom of night.
Heaven's burning stars disclose their light;
And the pale meteor of the dead,
Flies sparkling thro' the gloom of night.
It rests on yonder shady rock,
It glimmers on the mountain-fern;
I dimly view the blasted oak,
I view the tall hill, dark and stern.
It glimmers on the mountain-fern;
I dimly view the blasted oak,
I view the tall hill, dark and stern.
79
And who is he, beneath the tree,
All mantled in a dripping shroud?
The sullen tide flows by his side,
Half lost amid a misty cloud.
All mantled in a dripping shroud?
The sullen tide flows by his side,
Half lost amid a misty cloud.
On high the lake's dark billows move,
And whitening, lash its rocky side;
A boat is brimful in the cove,
The oars upon the rocking tide.
And whitening, lash its rocky side;
A boat is brimful in the cove,
The oars upon the rocking tide.
And lonely by the craggy cave,
Behold'st thou not a virgin pale?
Her eye is on the rolling wave,
To meet her lover's promised sail.
Behold'st thou not a virgin pale?
Her eye is on the rolling wave,
To meet her lover's promised sail.
Ere yet the lingering light declin'd,
She saw his vessel's dashing oar;—
Are these his groans upon the wind?
Is this his broken boat ashore?—
She saw his vessel's dashing oar;—
Are these his groans upon the wind?
Is this his broken boat ashore?—
80
The stormy winds have ceased to blow,
But hark! I hear the rattling hail;
And drifted thick, the flaky snow
Whitens the hills of Inisfail.
But hark! I hear the rattling hail;
And drifted thick, the flaky snow
Whitens the hills of Inisfail.
By fits the struggling moon on high
Beams forth with cold and cheerless light;
But clouds again involve the sky,
Cold, dark, and dreary is the night!
Beams forth with cold and cheerless light;
But clouds again involve the sky,
Cold, dark, and dreary is the night!
| Poems by Three Friends | |