s and trembles.
Brutes, in hungry anger raving,
Prowl from dens, and caves, and caverns,
Mingle with the ghosts and spectres,
Lusting for a bloody surfeit.
Reptiles, subtle and obnoxious,
Crawl, and welter, and recoil them
On the path in slimy matters,
Reeking with a poisoned odor,
Darting poisons to molest him.
Arrows from the towers are flying,
Shafts of flame and showers of fire,
Sweeping on through clouds and vapors,
Like unto a storm of hailstones
Driven by a mighty tempest.
Sadder and more bitter feelings,
Deeper, darker fears betake him,
As, above the groans around him,
Coming from the pit of terrors,
Bitter wailings, mournful cryings,
Rise and fill the air with anguish.
Now in view the dingy walls stand,
In their black and dismal bearing,
Of the gloomy pit of terrors;
Gloomy, like a loathsome dungeon.
Now before the gate he standeth,
Worn, and weary, and dejected;
And the lurid glares break through it
Of the flames for ever burning;
And he sees the shames, the tortures,
And the writhing objects in them,
Suffering and enduring anguish.
They who once on bounty feasted,
Now enclosed in pangs of hunger;
They who were the poor's oppressors,
Now oppressed and trodden under.
Now destroyers are destroyed,
Scoffers are with scoff betaken,
And the lofty are made humble;
And he shudders to behold them.
Then an awful oath is spoken,
Bidding to unbar the passage;
And the burdened words are answered
With another oath as fearful
From the fierce and sullen keeper;
And the creaking bars fly backward
With a mighty clash of vengeance.
Then the brazen gate is opened,
And the poor deluded victim
Thrust into the pit of horrors,
All amid the foulsome vapors.
Flies the postern close behind him,
Back the bolts and bars are driven,
Creaking with their heavy burden;
And a motley throng surround him,
Railing, scoffing, and abusing;
Each devising of some evil
To annoy, or taunt, or torture.
Vengeance burneth black within him,
And infernal wars are raging
In him and in all the dwellers,
One and one against another,
Who are doomed through time eternal
To this awful pit of terrors;
Where the evil spirits harbour,
Keep, and count their spoil and plunder,
Gathered from among the people,
Brought from many ruined cities,
Gained in many depredations,
By the hand of havoc aided."
These are stories Sero telleth
Of the happy land of Blisses,
Of the dreaded pit of terrors,
To the people of the kingdom,
If perch