The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery Collected and Revised by the Author |
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MARIUS. |
 | The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery |  |
601
MARIUS.
(1827.)
Sad on the echoing shore great Màrius mused,
Deserted and alone; his harass'd eye
The crested waves cast sullenly athwart,
Where rode the traitor's bark. How fallen now
Since that proud day when triumph fired his eye,
And Rome beheld her valorous saviour there!
To brighter days his dreams went back. He thought
Of that high morn, when, fronting Scipio's view,
With firm-paced step, and unretreating arm,
The foe he dash'd, and dragg'd him in the dust:
Of Rome's acclaim, when, throned upon his car,
Jugurtha's fetters clanking on his ear,
He moved triumphant, 'mid the banner'd throng
Who hail'd his Afric conquest: prouder still,
His memory hover'd round the laurell'd pile
Heap'd from the spoil'd Ambrones;—torch in hand,
And purple-clad, as veterans round him stood
He waved and whirl'd the blazing light to heaven,
While shields, and clashing spears, rang martial joy.
Of these he thought, and then Despair awoke,
And delved a frown upon his war-worn brow,
That bent with recollections dark and deep.
Deserted and alone; his harass'd eye
The crested waves cast sullenly athwart,
Where rode the traitor's bark. How fallen now
Since that proud day when triumph fired his eye,
And Rome beheld her valorous saviour there!
To brighter days his dreams went back. He thought
Of that high morn, when, fronting Scipio's view,
With firm-paced step, and unretreating arm,
The foe he dash'd, and dragg'd him in the dust:
Of Rome's acclaim, when, throned upon his car,
Jugurtha's fetters clanking on his ear,
He moved triumphant, 'mid the banner'd throng
Who hail'd his Afric conquest: prouder still,
His memory hover'd round the laurell'd pile
Heap'd from the spoil'd Ambrones;—torch in hand,
And purple-clad, as veterans round him stood
He waved and whirl'd the blazing light to heaven,
While shields, and clashing spears, rang martial joy.
Of these he thought, and then Despair awoke,
And delved a frown upon his war-worn brow,
That bent with recollections dark and deep.
Thus Marius sat; and mused before the sea;
Till, bursting from his shroud of grief and gloom,
O'er bogs and wilds dejectedly he sought
A shelter from his foes. Unto the fens
With wild and weary step the wanderer came,
And found compassion in a cotter's hut:
Roused thence, he couch'd within a narrow cave,
Beside the river; there was Marius ta'en,
And naked dragg'd unto Minturnæ's walls!
Till, bursting from his shroud of grief and gloom,
O'er bogs and wilds dejectedly he sought
A shelter from his foes. Unto the fens
With wild and weary step the wanderer came,
And found compassion in a cotter's hut:
Roused thence, he couch'd within a narrow cave,
Beside the river; there was Marius ta'en,
And naked dragg'd unto Minturnæ's walls!
Within a cell, whose dungeon-wall shed round
A dreadful gloom, the imprison'd Warrior lay,
Stern, fierce, and frowning, dubious of his fate
Like a chain'd eagle glaring at the skies!
The door burst open; and with clattering teeth,
And hand which trembled like a dizzy flame,
Stalk'd in a savage Gaul; but, ere he sheath'd
His gleaming dagger in a Roman breast,
From his fierce eyes a living flame there flash'd,
Like lightning from a cloud! Th' assassin shook
And reel'd, and shrunk affrighted from dread eyes
Whose flashes fell like phantom-darts of fire,
On that pale coward's face. Then Marius rose
And, with a voice of thunder, loud and deep,
“Darest thou do the murderous deed!” exclaim'd.
A dreadful gloom, the imprison'd Warrior lay,
Stern, fierce, and frowning, dubious of his fate
Like a chain'd eagle glaring at the skies!
The door burst open; and with clattering teeth,
And hand which trembled like a dizzy flame,
Stalk'd in a savage Gaul; but, ere he sheath'd
His gleaming dagger in a Roman breast,
From his fierce eyes a living flame there flash'd,
Like lightning from a cloud! Th' assassin shook
And reel'd, and shrunk affrighted from dread eyes
Whose flashes fell like phantom-darts of fire,
On that pale coward's face. Then Marius rose
And, with a voice of thunder, loud and deep,
“Darest thou do the murderous deed!” exclaim'd.
| The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery | |