III.

Angel of Death! did no presaging sign Announce thy coming, and thy way prepare? No warning voice, no harbinger was thine, Danger and fear seem’d past--but thou wert there! Prophetic sounds along the earthquake’s path Foretell the hour of nature’s awful throes; And the volcano, ere it burst in wrath, Sends forth some herald from its dread repose: But _thou_, dark Spirit! swift and unforeseen, Cam’st like the lightning’s flash, when heaven is all serene.