Reposes she, the lovely youthful maid Before whom lies, in his last pangs convulsed, The aged sickly parent? His pale cheek Has ta'en a purple flush-his eye is wild- His wither'd hands he tosses to and fro-
Wheezes and snorts for breath-and seems to catch At shadows."Water," then he feebly cries ;— She puts it to his lips-she bathes his brow- She sprinkles o'er his venerable face :-
"Hot-hot-" he murmurs-" no, 'tis burning hot-" "Oh! water-cold-cold water." Muttering thus, His eye-balls fix-he stiffens-gasps-and dies.
Who sleeps within the city?
Sleep who shall wake no more. He on whom fell The crushing ruin :-who by the red bolt
Perish'd: the fear-slain wretch who where he died Still sits erect and cold-and stiff: with eye
Staring and fix'd-looking upon the night- The dead sleep in the city.
Drag on the hours: a year of common life Less slow than such a night.-What is it waves At intervals along the inky sky
Like a dark blood-red flag? It casts no light By which to see :-yet 'tis not for the time That depth intense of blackness, but a dim And dusky red obscurity :-such tinge As sometimes on the low and heavy clouds Of midnight by th' horizon tre bling hangs
Scarce seen-from some far distant watch-fire thrown.
"'Tis the vast flame that through the sea of smoke From high Vesuvius' black and sulphurous mouth Bursts for an instant forth,-then sinks again, In that dense vapour quench'd.-They who behold, Marvel and fear-yet know not whence it is.
Whence come those distant thunder-breathings deep, That fall with gentlest touch upon the ear,
Yet seem to fill the heavens--and reach earth's centre?
'Tis from that mountain's vast and hollow womb, Now first conceiving subterranean fire,
And belching earthly thunders.-Thousands hear That warning voice-yet none its meaning know.-
What is it moves with gentle heave the ground; Like softest swell of ocean in a calm-
Now rests-then comes again with tremblings soft, As from the rumbling of a loaded wain-
Felt, tho' not heard?-All know the earthquake's tread, And would, but cannot, flee.-
Oh! when will morning come?-the tapers all That measure out the hours are long since spent But yet there is no day.-Is the great sun Consumed too,-or darken'd?-this the time, So oft foretold, when nature shall expire,- The heavens be blotted out-and earth in flames Shall pass away?
Such thoughts o'er many came
As, slowly yielding now, the pall of night Changed to a dingy red :-like a vast arch Of iron look'd the heavens when first the heat, Deep penetrating, to a lurid tinge
Begins to turn its blackness :-redder now- And redder still the awful concave glows- Till in its bloody, but uncertain glare,
The bolder may walk forth..-Man meets with man, And starts as at a fiend :-for from the hot And fiery sky all things have caught their hue:- No sweet varieties of colour here
As in the blessed sunshine :-no soft tints
Like those of sweet May-morn,-when day's bright god Looks smiling from behind delicious mists;
Throwing his slant rays on the glistening grass,
Where, 'gainst the rich deep green, the cowslip hangs His elegant bells of purest gold :-the pale,
Sweet perfumed primrose lifts its face to heaven Like the full, artless gaze of infancy :- The little ray-crown'd daisy peeps beneath When the tall neighbour grass, heavy with dew, Bows down its head beneath the fresh'ning breeze ;- Where oft in long dark lines the waving trees Throw their soft shadows on the sunny fields:- Where in the music-breathing hedge, the thorn And pearly white May blossom full of sweets, Hang out the virgin flag of spring, entwined With dripping honeysuckles whose sweet breath Sinks to the heart-recalling with a sigh Dim recollected feelings of the days Of youth and early love.-Oh! none of these, Nature's too oft unprized treasures, bless'd
That scene of woe. The pure white marble shaft
That bears aloft the princely portico
Of the proud palace-the black dungeon gate:- The pallid statue o'er some honour'd tomb
That ever drooping hangs ;-and the bronze Mars That bares his blood-stain'd sword:-the solemn tree That o'er the sepulchre his dark green boughs Hangs melancholy;-and the vivid flower That in its course still looks upon the sun :- The deep brown earth, and the fresh garden tints Of emerald, with flowers of every stain
The rainbow's dye can give ;-the beggar's rags, And the cerulean blue of beauty's robe ;—
All in one undistinguishable hue
Are clad, of lurid redness.
Thousands of fire-tinged figures roam amazed
"Is this morn?" they ask,
"Oh! what a night we've passed!-but is this morn? "And what is that, high in the gory clouds, "That orb of brighter crimson?" On it gaze Unnumber'd wide and wistful eyes. By heavens ! It is the sun in his meridian fields !
Where hath his morning splendor slept unseen? -In that dense sea above of vapour, fire, Darkness, and storms-his morning splendor slept, And soon again he'll sink. Devoted race! Your last bright sun has set:-gaze while ye may Even on that dark red orb :-fast close around Th' impenetrable clouds :-sulphureous fogs Roll on-light feathery ashes mix, and fill Th' unwholesome air: the firmament grows dark, The sun's red disk seems melting in the clouds. Look-miserable mortals !-look your last: A faint dim outline only can ye trace: What see ye now?-rests he behind a cloud?- No! no;-ye gaze in vain!—his beam is quench'd !---- To you for ever quench'd! High in the heavens He rides sublime in his immortal course,
And shall for ever roll; but to your eyes His beams return no more. Far different lights Must gild your few remaining hours:-the flash Of the death-dealing lightning-the red glare Of populous streets in flames-the sparkles dread Of moony meteors-and an atmosphere With burning cinders fill'd-and rocks of fire.
[N. B. The figures within crotchets refer to the pages of the History; the other to those of the Chronicle, Appendix to ditto, and Extracts.]
ABDICATION of the king of Sardinia,
[238], [243], 597. Abyssinia, affairs of, [257]. Accidents at Dr. Uwins', 1; two of the crew of the Badger cutter drown- ed, 12; two women burnt to death at St. Just, 13; at Sheriff Hill col- liery, 15; explosion of a weather- chest at Bombay, 16; ditto of a dis- tillery, 31; Miss Radford, 31, 56; a powder manufactory, 43; Miss Fell, 43; rev. Mr. Crawford drowned, 45; Mr. Angerstein ditto, 53; master Rowley, 58; soldiers, &c. drowned at Woolwich, 61; fall of St. Giles' church at Munster, 77; Mr. Harmer shot by his wife, 86; Shrewsbury theatre, 90; Mr. Hadland killed by a steam-engine, 96; Corville colliery, 157; Mr. Wontner, 170.
Acids, mineral, their action on chlo- rurets of gold, 699.
Admiralty, High Court of, see Court. Address of the Presbytery of Langholme,
[7]; voted a breach of privilege, [8]. Advertising, French mode of, 194. Aerostation: Mr. Green's ascent, 147; improvements in, 709. Ethiopia, 677.
African Institution, report on, 556. Agricultural distress, [66]; report of the committee on, 506. Agriculture and botany, 702. board of, 85.
Aleutian Islands, regulation for trade of, 605.
Ali Pacha, [246]; Chourchid's operations against, [255].
Allied sovereigns, [107]; their views, [108]; circular dispatch from, to their ministers, 599.
America: encroachments of Russia on, [246]; law case respecting mulat- toes, 163, &c.; trial of J. Thompson, for murder of Miss Hamilton, 174; appeal for the removal of the duty on foreign books, 182; prices of provi- sions, 186; divorces, 194; president's message to Congress, 614; commer- cial relations, 615; gelatinous meteor at Amherst, 687; Greek MSS. 724;
a North American antiquity, 725, see also Brazils, Buenos Ayres, Columbia, Mexico, Peru, United States. Andre, major, disinterment of, 133. Animal warmth, 702.
Antiquities, Roman, 74, 720; North American, 725.
Antwerp, extraordinary fraud at, 52. Apple and pear trees: method of pro- moting their early puberty, 704; golden pippin, 704.
Arabia, military operations in, [288]. Arcos, Conde dos, charges against, [214]. Arctic voyage; rewards offered to ves-
sels, 36; departure of the discovery ships, 74, 80.
Armenian journal, 728.
Army estimates [85], [93]; abuses in commissions, [94]; accounts, [95]. Arts and manufactures, 705.
Aston, Mr. H. H., death of, and reports connected with, 44. Astronomical watch, 709.
Assizes: Chelmsford, R. Gouldstone, wounding a boar, 39; C. Lingord, &c., burglary, 40.
Cornwall; M. Lampshire, highway robbery, 54.
Horsham; G. England, murder of J. Swain, 50.
Limerick; M'Namara and Nolan,
murder of Mrs. Torrence, 189. Maidstone; Cowen v. Baker, tresp. 44. Middlesex Sessions; J. Sharpe, steal- ing some bread and meat, 183; Harmer v. Frowde, malicious prose- cution, 184.
Stafford; J. Wright, murder, 16. Wilts; Gracious and Cox, murder, 57. Atherstone's "Last Days of Hercula- neum," extract from, 737. Attorney General: reply to Mr. We- therell, as to the legality of the omis- sion of the Queen's name from the Liturgy [12]; reply to sir F. Bur- dett [17].
Austria: its conduct towards Naples, [106]; Naples occupied by, [107]; vigilance against the Carbonari, [168]; order of Redemptorists, [168]; the Austrian envoy quits Lisbon, [216]; relations with Naples, [225]; Aus-
trians advance towards Naples, [228]; attacked by Pepe, [229]; their suc- cesses, [230]; treaty with the Neapo- litans, [232]; advance on Turin, [242].
Bahia, revolution at, [217].
Bakers, informations against, 540. Bamberg: miracles of Prince Hohenlohe, [167]; meteor, 197. Bancroft, Dr. death of, 242. Bankers, 86.
Bank-notes, 12; robbery of, by rats, 61;
official statement of, 69, 101, 152. Bankruptcy, Howard and Gibbs', 53. Barcelona, fever at, [145], [206], 161. Baring, Mr., his proposal respecting the currency, [70].
Barometer, improved, 710.
Barrack department, expenses, [95]. Barrett, Dr., death of, 245; authentic anecdotes of, 656. Bartsch, A., death of, 227.
Battles, list of Buonaparte's, 651. Bayadere, and the God, from Goëthe, 734.
Bennett, hon. G. H. G., libel on, in the John Bull, [50]. Bergami, 647.
Besborough, countess of, her death, 245. Best, Judge, inquiry against, for his conduct on Davison's trial, [64]. Bills: Sir J. Mackintosh's for mitigat- ing the punishment of forgery, [52]; for taking away capital punishment from stealing in dwelling-houses, &c. [56]; Mr. Martin's, for allowing counsel to those accused of felony, [56]; Mr. Kennedy's, for improving the constitution of Scotch juries, [58]; Cash-payments' Bill, [70].
Biot, M., electrical experiments by, 699. Birmingham, reduction of poor-rates at, 193. Births, 204.
Bishop of Peterborough, see Peterbo- rough.
Blacow, rev. R., fined for libel on the Queen, 176.
Blane, capt. G. R., death of, 237. Blasphemy, singular case of, 23. Blindness, the whole crew of a vessel afflicted with, 557.
Bog, moving one in Ireland, 103, 683. Bolivar, gen. renews hostilities, [281]; created president of Columbia, [284]. Bonn, extraordinary affair at, 176. Bonnycastle, J., death of, 237. Bowes, T., his claim to the Strathmore peerage made out, 103. Bow-street, see Police. Brass-work, lacker for, 711.
Brazils: revolutions at Para, Bahia, and Pernambuco, [217]; at Rio Janeiro, [218]; the constitution proclaimed by the prince royal, [218]; departure of the king for Europe, [219]; disturb- ances at Bahia and Pernambuco, [220]; Monte Video, [221]; king's instructions relative to the govern- ment, 588.
Bread, report on the making and sale of, 539.
Bridel, Louis, death of, 227. Bridge-street society, see Constitu- tional.
Broderson, C. F., trial of, for fraud, 3. Brougham, Mr., reply to lord Castle- reagh in the debate respecting the Queen, [22]; attacks the Constitu- tional Association, [61]. Broughton, capt., death of, 233. Browne, colonel, attempted assassina- tion of, at Milan, 17.
Bryant, Michael, death of, 233. Brygger, Nils, a Swede, his confessions of treason, 27.
Bubna, Austrian commander, his pro- clamation, [242]; enters Alessandria, [243].
Bucharia, Russian embassy to, [245]. Budget, [91].
Buenos Ayres: death of Ramirez, &c. [285]; Revadavia's administration, [285].
Buonaparte, his death, [142]; cba- racter, [144]; official intelligence of his death, 104: appearance of the body on dissection, 105; petition to the Chamber of Deputies for the removal of his remains, 111; public mourn- ing for him at Parma, 113; his will, 393; memoir of him, 650; his treat- ment of the Prussians, 655.
Burdett, sir F., his speech on the con- duct of ministers to the queen, [16] motion for a committee on the Man- chester business, [64]; fined, 26; correspondence with Mr. Canning, 92. Burney, admiral, death of, 246. Butterly and Ennis, their murder of
Miss Thompson, 54; execution, 77. Byron, lord, lines to, by Moore, 780.
Cadiz, insurrections at, [196], [198]. Caermarthen, attempt of prisoners to
escape from the gaol at, 8. Caillaud, M., pyramids discovered by, 677.
Calcott, Dr., musician, death of, 239. Campbell, Sir G., suicide of, 19. Canada, [288].
Canning, Mr., assents to the queen's
name being expunged from the Li-
« AnteriorContinuar » |