For where portentous thy proud banners waved,
Rapine rush'd o'er the wasted land:
Thy country too, her freeborn sons enslaved
Or slaughter'd, cursed thy hostile hand.
So falls the impious tyrant race,

And fair Renown disdains their hated dust to grace.

The dreadful work of death prepare: The father's crimes for boundless vengeance call, And all the tyrant's sons shall fall; Nor branch, nor offspring shall my fury spare, Lest o'er the trembling earth again

Spread the wild horrors of their reign.

No more their haughty towers shall pierce the skies,

And fill the wide world with their fame; Against them, saith Jehovah, I will rise, Will rend from Babylon the name,

Smite from its course her stagnant stream, And o'er its miry gulfs shall clanging seamews

scream.

Thus hath God sworn, the' Almighty Lord: Like the strong mountains shall my purpose stand, To crush the' Assyrian in my land;

Through all their hosts shall rage the vengeful Dreadful on Sion's sacred brow [sword;

The God of Armies shall they know. Daughter of Sion, let thy joy arise,

From thy grieved neck his yoke shall fall; Virgin, exult, thy haughty foe despise,

His chain no more thy arms shall gall.

Thus hath God sworn, nor sworn in vain:

The' Almighty's hand is stretch'd, who shall its force restrain?

REV. R. POTTER.

THE FATE OF TYRANNY*.

I. 1.

OPPRESSION dies: the tyrant falls :
The golden city bows her walls!

Jehovah breaks the' avenger's rod.
The son of Wrath, whose ruthless hand
Hurl'd desolation o'er the land,

[blood. Has run his raging race, has closed the scene of Chiefs arm'd around behold their vanquish'd

lord;

[sword. Nor spread the guardian shield, nor lift the loyal

I. 2.

He falls; and earth again is free.
Hark! at the call of Liberty,

All Nature lifts the choral song.

The fir trees, on the mountain's head,
Rejoice through all their pomp of shade;

The lordly cedars nod on sacred Lebanon:

Tyrant! they cry, since thy fell force is broke, Our proud heads pierce the skies, nor fear the woodman's stroke.

This Ode is a free paraphrase of part of the 14th chapter of Isaiah, where the Prophet, after he has foretold the destruction of Babylon, subjoins a Song of Triumph, which, he supposes, the Jews will sing when his prediction is fulfilled. And ⚫ it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve, that thou shalt take up this proverb against the King of Babylon, and say "How hath the oppressor ceased."' &c.

REFERENCES.

1st Strophe, ver. 4, 5, 6.

1st Antistrophe, 'The whole earth is at rest,' &c. ver. 7, 8.

I. 3.

Hell, from her gulf profound,

Rouses at thine approach; and, all around,
Her dreadful notes of preparation sound.
See, at the awful call,

Her shadowy heroes all,

E'en mighty kings, the heirs of empire wide,
Rising, with solemn state, and slow,
From their sable thrones below,
Meet and insult thy pride.

What, dost thou join our ghostly train,
A flitting shadow light and vain?
Where is thy pomp, thy festive throng,
The revel dance, and wanton song?

Proud king! Corruption fastens on thy breast; And calls her crawling brood, and bids them share the feast.

II. 1.

Oh Lucifer! thou radiant star;
Son of the Morn; whose rosy car

Flamed foremost in the van of day;
How art thou fallen, thou King of Light!
How fallen from thy meridian height!

Who saidst The distant poles shall hear me and

obey.

[glow,

High o'er the stars my sapphire throne shall And, as Jehovah's self, my voice the heavens shall bow.

REFERENCES.

1st Epode, Hell from beneath is moved for thee,' &c. ver. 9, 10, 11.

2d Strophe, How art thou fallen from heaven,' &c. ver. 12, 13, 14.

VOL. I.

I

II. 2.

He spake, he died.

Distain'd with gore,

Beside yon yawning cavern hoar,

See, where his livid corse is laid.
The aged pilgrim, passing by,

Surveys him long with dubious eye;

And muses on his fate, and shakes his reverend head.

Just Heavens! is thus thy pride imperial gone? Is this poor heap of dust the King of Babylon?

II. 3.

Is this the man, whose nod

Made the earth tremble: whose terrific rod
Level'd her loftiest cities? Where he trod,
Famine pursued and frown'd;
Till Nature, groaning round,

Saw her rich realms transform'd to deserts dry;
While at his crowded prison's gate,
Grasping the keys of fate,

Stood stern Captivity.

Vain man! behold thy righteous doom; Behold each neighbouring monarch's tomb; The trophied arch, the breathing bust, The laurel shades their sacred dust: While thou, vile outcast, on this hostile plain, Moulder'st a vulgar corse, among the vulgar slain.

REFERENCES.

2d Antistrophe, Yet thou shalt be brought down to Hell,' &c. ver, 15, 16.

2d Epode, 'Is this the man that made the earth to tremble,' &c. ver. 16, 17, 18, 19.

III. 1.

No trophied arch, no breathing bust
Shall dignify thy trampled dust:

No laurel flourish o'er thy grave.

For why, proud king, thy ruthless hand
Hurl'd desolation o'er the land,

And crush'd the subject race, whom kings are born

to save:

Eternal infamy shall blast thy name, [shame. And all thy sons shall share their impious father's

III. 2.

Rise, purple Slaughter! furious rise;
Unfold the terror of thine eyes;

Dart thy vindictive shafts around:
Let no strange land a shade afford,

No conquer'd nations call them lord;

Nor let their cities rise to curse the goodly ground. For thus Jehovah swears; No name, no son, No remnant shall remain of haughty Babylon.

III. 3.

Thus saith the righteous Lord:

My vengeance shall unsheath the flaming sword;
O'er all thy realms my fury shall be pour'd.
Where yon proud city stood,
I'll spread the stagnant flood;

REFERENCES.

3d Strophe, Thou shalt not be joined to them in burial,' &c. ver. 20.

3d Antistrophe, 'Prepare slaughter for his children,' ver. 21,

22.

3d Epode, Saith the Lord, I will also make it a possession for the bittern,' &c. ver. 22-27.