VIII.

And all the rest rushed through the door, And tumbled over one another, And broke their skulls.--Upon the floor Meanwhile sat Peter Bell, and swore, And cursed his father and his mother;

And raved of God, and sin, and death, Blaspheming like an infidel; And said, that with his clenchèd teeth He'd seize the earth from underneath, And drag it with him down to hell.

As he was speaking came a spasm, And wrenched his gnashing teeth asunder; Like one who sees a strange phantasm He lay,--there was a silent chasm Between his upper jaw and under.

And yellow death lay on his face; And a fixed smile that was not human Told, as I understand the case, That he was gone to the wrong place:-- I heard all this from the old woman.