 | Ouâbi : or the virtues of nature |  |
Celario listens with the ear of care,
His sinking limbs their wonted aid refuse,
He calls his warriors with distracted air,
Whose ready hands the suff'ring victim loose.
His sinking limbs their wonted aid refuse,
He calls his warriors with distracted air,
Whose ready hands the suff'ring victim loose.
38
Around his feet the young deliv'rer clings;
It is Ouâbi! greatest! first of men!
The song of death the dauntless sachem sings,
Yet clasps his lov'd Celario once agen.
It is Ouâbi! greatest! first of men!
The song of death the dauntless sachem sings,
Yet clasps his lov'd Celario once agen.
Thro' the deep wood they seek the healing balm,
Weep on his hand, or at his feet deplore;
Ah! how unlike Ouâbi's glorious form!
Now gash'd with wounds, and bath'd in streams of gore!
Weep on his hand, or at his feet deplore;
Ah! how unlike Ouâbi's glorious form!
Now gash'd with wounds, and bath'd in streams of gore!
Snatch'd from the wish'd oblivion of the field,
Subjected to the victor's hard decree,
Struck by his form, their iron bosoms yield,
They grant a life depriv'd of liberty.
Subjected to the victor's hard decree,
Struck by his form, their iron bosoms yield,
They grant a life depriv'd of liberty.
Th' indignant chief the proffer'd boon disdains,
Defies their rage, and scorns their threat'ning ire,
Demands the tortures, and their rending pains,
The ling'ring anguish of the tardy fire.
Defies their rage, and scorns their threat'ning ire,
Demands the tortures, and their rending pains,
The ling'ring anguish of the tardy fire.
The Death Song echo'd thro' the hollow wood,
Just when Celario led his warrior-train,
Th' affrighted foe discard the work of blood,
And fly impetuous o'er the arid plain.
Just when Celario led his warrior-train,
Th' affrighted foe discard the work of blood,
And fly impetuous o'er the arid plain.
Thus when a carcase clogs the op'ning vale,
And birds of prey in prowling circles throng,
If some fierce hound approach the tainted gale,
He drives the wild relentless brood along.
And birds of prey in prowling circles throng,
If some fierce hound approach the tainted gale,
He drives the wild relentless brood along.
39
Pale horror stalks, and swift destruction reigns,
Carnage and death pollute the ruin'd glade,
'Till nature's weari'd arm a respite gains,
When night pacific spreads her sable shade.
Carnage and death pollute the ruin'd glade,
'Till nature's weari'd arm a respite gains,
When night pacific spreads her sable shade.
| Ouâbi : or the virtues of nature | |