the skeptic's last night.
119
Again
The Specter spoke—"Proud man! thy days are numbered:
Ere the sun shall rise and set and rise again,
Thou wilt be far hence; thy disembodied
Spirit will have passed into the presence of that God
Whom thou, with impious breath, hast dared to
Scorn. Ah! we shall meet again at that dread
Bar, where all are equal. And now, farewell,
Thou, who didst whisper in mine ear words
Poisonous as the deadly Upas tree,
Whose very shades are death!—didst rob my youth
Of innocence, betray my too confiding
Love, and leave me in a world so dark, that
Not one ray of light e'er pierced its dreadful
Gloom!—farewell! But ere I go, the spirit
Of an erring but redeemed mortal,
Bids me tell thee, thou mayst yet repent
And live."
The Specter spoke—"Proud man! thy days are numbered:
Ere the sun shall rise and set and rise again,
Thou wilt be far hence; thy disembodied
Spirit will have passed into the presence of that God
Whom thou, with impious breath, hast dared to
Scorn. Ah! we shall meet again at that dread
Bar, where all are equal. And now, farewell,
Thou, who didst whisper in mine ear words
Poisonous as the deadly Upas tree,
Whose very shades are death!—didst rob my youth
Of innocence, betray my too confiding
Love, and leave me in a world so dark, that
Not one ray of light e'er pierced its dreadful
Gloom!—farewell! But ere I go, the spirit
Of an erring but redeemed mortal,
Bids me tell thee, thou mayst yet repent
And live."
Slowly the dim form faded from
His sight. Silent he sought his lonely couch,
To toss all night in restless dreams.
His sight. Silent he sought his lonely couch,
To toss all night in restless dreams.
