The Judgement of the Flood by John A. Heraud. A New Edition. Revised and Re-Arranged |
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The Judgement of the Flood | ||
Now, in the rear; high seated on a car,
Drawn by two Leopards; Kaël came enthroned:
Of a barbaric army chief adored.
Prince of a savage tribe, that dwelt beyond
The far Erythræan Sea; once immigrant;
From Naid, and Enos for their crimes exiled;
And, free from government, thenceforth declined
From lawless human to mere animal;
Half brute, but not half angel; and yet men,
If but as idiots. Hence, into their souls
Glimpses of reason flashed an awful light,
More piercing made by the surrounding gloom.
So had they superstitions; and from Death,
And from the Dead, were visited of dreams,
Acceptable to Faith—high faculty,
By weakness to credulity reduced,
Yet even in weakness to be reverenced.
For them, strange meaning had the closing Year;
Since on its Last Day, at the mid of night,
The ghosts of the departed wont appear
To friends, and relatives; . . who ready made
For spiritual visitants their house,
And set the room in order, and prepared
Water to purify, and wine to welcome,
The traveller from worlds transcending this; . .
Whose coming they awaited all the night,
Until the hour appointed; then held they
Communion with their guests invisible—
Which whoso failed to do might vengeance fear.
Drawn by two Leopards; Kaël came enthroned:
Of a barbaric army chief adored.
Prince of a savage tribe, that dwelt beyond
The far Erythræan Sea; once immigrant;
From Naid, and Enos for their crimes exiled;
And, free from government, thenceforth declined
From lawless human to mere animal;
Half brute, but not half angel; and yet men,
If but as idiots. Hence, into their souls
Glimpses of reason flashed an awful light,
More piercing made by the surrounding gloom.
So had they superstitions; and from Death,
And from the Dead, were visited of dreams,
123
By weakness to credulity reduced,
Yet even in weakness to be reverenced.
For them, strange meaning had the closing Year;
Since on its Last Day, at the mid of night,
The ghosts of the departed wont appear
To friends, and relatives; . . who ready made
For spiritual visitants their house,
And set the room in order, and prepared
Water to purify, and wine to welcome,
The traveller from worlds transcending this; . .
Whose coming they awaited all the night,
Until the hour appointed; then held they
Communion with their guests invisible—
Which whoso failed to do might vengeance fear.
The Judgement of the Flood | ||