The Miseries of War

TO a wild mountain, whose bare summit hidesIts broken eminence in clouds; whose steepsAre dark with woods; where the receding rocksAre worn with torrents of dissolving snow;A wretched woman, pale and breathless, flies,And, gazing round her, listens to the soundOf hostile footsteps:—No! they die away—Nor noise remains, but of the cataract,Or surly breeze of night, that mutters lowAmong the thickets, where she trembling seeksA temporary shelter—Clasping closeTo her quick throbbing heart her sleeping child,

All she could rescue of the innocent groupThat yesterday surrounded her—EscapedAlmost by miracle!—Fear, frantic Fear,Wing'd her weak feet; yet, half repenting nowHer headlong haste, she wishes she had staidTo die with those affrighted Fancy paintsThe lawless soldiers' victims—Hark! againThe driving tempest bears the cry of Death;And with deep, sudden thunder, the dread soundOf cannon vibrates on the tremulous earth;While, bursting in the air, the murderous bombGlares o'er her mansion—Where the splinters fallLike scatter'd comets, its destructive pathIs mark'd by wreaths of flame!—Then, overwhelm'd

Beneath accumulated horror, sinksThe desolate mourner!***************************The feudal Chief, whose Gothic battlementsFrown on the plain beneath, returning homeFrom distant lands, alone, and in disguise,Gains at the fall of night his castle walls;But, at the silent gate no porter sitsTo wait his lord's admittance!—In the courtsAll is drear stillness!—Guessing but too wellThe fatal truth, he shudders as he goesThro' the mute hall; where, by the blunted light

That the dim Moon thro' painted casement lends,He sees that devastation has been there;Then, while each hideous image to his mindRises terrific, o'er a bleeding corseStumbling he falls; another interceptsHis staggering feet—All! all who used to rushWith joy to meet him, all his familyLie murder'd in his way!—And the day dawnsOn a wild raving Maniac, whom a fateSo sudden and calamitous has robb'dOf reason; and who round his vacant wallsScreams unregarded, and reproaches Heaven!