27

'O gentle child, beautiful as thou wert,
Why didst thou leave the trodden paths of men
Too soon, and with weak hands though mighty heart
Dare the unpastured dragon in his den?
Defenceless as thou wert, oh where was then 5
Wisdom the mirrored shield, or scorn the spear?--
Or, hadst thou waited the full cycle when
Thy spirit should have filled its crescent sphere,
The monsters of life's waste had fled from thee like deer.


28.

'The herded wolves bold only to pursue,
The obscene ravens clamorous o'er the dead,
The vultures to the conqueror's banner true,
Who feed where desolation first has fed,
And whose wings rain contagion,--how they fled, 5
When like Apollo, from his golden bow,
The Pythian of the age one arrow sped,
And smiled!--The spoilers tempt no second blow,
They fawn on the proud feet that spurn them lying low.


29.

'The sun comes forth, and many reptiles spawn: