Was nothing to his angry might,
And merely like a spur became :
Each motion which I made to free
My swoll'n limbs from their agony
Increased his fury and affright:

I tried my voice-'twas faint and low,.
But yet he swerved as from a blow;
And, starting to each accent, sprang
As from a sudden trumpet's clang;
Meantime my cords were wet with gore,
Which, oozing through my limbs, ran o'er,
And in my tongue the thirst became
A something fierier far than flame.

XII.

"We near'd the wild wood-'twas so wide,

I saw no bounds on either side;

'Twas studded with old sturdy trees,

That bent not to the roughest breeze

Which howls down from Siberia's waste,

And strips the forest in its haste—

But these were few and far between,

Set thick with shrubs more young and green,
Luxuriant with their annual leaves,

Ere strewn by those autumnal eves
That nip the forest's foliage dead,
Discolour'd with a lifeless red,
Which stands thereon, like stiffen'd gore
Upon the slain when battle's o'er,

And some long winter's night hath shed
Its frosts o'er every tombless head,
So cold and stark the raven's beak
May peck unpierced each frozen cheek:
'Twas a wild waste of underwood,
And here and there a chestnut stood,
The strong oak, and the hardy pine;

But far apart and well it were, Or else a different lot were mine

The boughs gave way, and did not tear
My limbs; and I found strength to bear
My wounds, already scarr'd with cold-
My bonds forbade to loose my hold.

We rustled through the leaves like wind,
Left shrubs, and trees, and wolves behind;
By night I heard them on the track,
Their troop came hard upon our back.
With their long gallop, which can tire
The hound's deep hate and hunter's fire:
Where'er we flew they follow'd on,
Nor left us with the morning sun;
Behind I saw them, scarce a rood,

At daybreak winding through the wood,
And through the night had heard their feet
Their stealing, rustling step repeat.

Oh! how I wish'd for spear or sword,

At least to die amidst the horde,
And perish-if it must be so—
At bay, destroying many a foe.
When first my courser's race begun,
I wish'd the goal already won;

But now I doubted strength and speed.
Vain doubt! his swift and savage breed
Had nerved him like the mountain roe;
Nor faster falls the blinding snow
Which whelms the peasant near the door
Whose threshold he shall cross no more,
Bewilder'd with the dazzling blast,
Than through the forest-paths he pass'd-
Untired, untamed, and worse than wild;
All furious as a favour'd child

Balk'd of its wish; or fiercer still-
A woman piqued--who has her will,

XIII.

"The wood was pass'd; 'twas more than noon,
But chill the air, although in June;

Or it might be my veins ran cold-
Prolong'd endurance tames the bold;
And I was then not what I seem.
But headlong as a wintry stream,
And wore my feelings out before

I well could count their causes o'er;
And what with fury, fear, and wrath,
The tortures which beset my path,
Cold, hunger, sorrow, shame, distress,
Thus bound in nature's nakedness;

Sprung from a race whose rising blood,
When stirr'd beyond its calmer mood,
And trodden hard upon, is like
The rattlesnake's, in act to strike,
What marvel if this worn-out trunk
Beneath its woes a moment sunk?

The earth gave way, the skies roll'd round,
I seem'd to sink upon the ground;

But err'd, for I was fastly bound.

My heart turn'd sick, my brain grew sore,
And throbb'd awhile, then beat no more: .
The skies spun like a mighty wheel;

I saw the trees like drunkards reel,
And a slight flash sprang o'er my eyes,
Which saw no further: he who dies
Can die no more than then I died.
O'ertortured by that ghastly ride,
I felt the blackness come and go,
And strove to wake; but could not make
My senses climb up from below:

I felt as on a plank at sea,

When all the waves that dash o'er thee
At the same time upheave and whelm,

And hurl thee towards a desert realm.

My undulating life was as

The fancied lights that flitting pass
Our shut eyes in deep midnight, when
Fever begins upon the brain;
But soon it pass'd, with little pain ;
But a confusion worse than such:
I own that I should deem it much,
Dying, to feel the same again;
And yet I do suppose we must

Feel far more ere we turn to dust:
No matter; I have bared my brow
Full in Death's face-before-and now.

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XIV.

"My thoughts came back; where was I? Cold, And numb, and giddy: pulse by pulse

Life reassumed its lingering hold,

And throb by throb; till grown a pang,
Which for a moment would convulse,

My blood reflow'd, though thick and chill;
My ear with uncouth noises rang,

My heart began once more to thrill;
My sight return'd, though dim, alas!
And thicken'd, as it were with glass.
Methought the dash of waves was nigh;
There was a gleam, too, of the sky
Studded with stars;-it is no dream;
The wild horse swims the wilder stream!
The bright, broad river's gushing tide
Sweeps, winding onward, far and wide,
And we are half way, struggling o'er
To yon unknown and silent shore.
The waters broke my hollow trance,
And with a temporary strength

My stiffen'd limbs were rebaptized.

5

ΙΟ

35

20

My courser's broad breast proudly braves,
And dashes off the ascending waves,
And onward we advance!

We reach the slippery shore at length,
A haven I but little prized,

For all behind was dark and drear,
And all before was night and fear.
How many hours of night or day
In those suspended pangs I lay,
I could not tell; I scarcely knew
If this were human breath I drew.

XV.

"With glossy skin, and dripping mane,
And reeling limbs, and reeking flank,
The wild steed's sinewy nerves still strain
Up the repelling bank.

We gain the top; a boundless plain
Spreads through the shadow of the night,
And onward, onward, onward seems,
Like precipices in our dreams,

To stretch beyond the sight;

And here and there a speck of white,
Or scatter'd spot of dusky green,

In masses broke into the light,
As rose the moon upon my right:
But naught distinctly seen

In the dim waste would indicate
The omen of a cottage gate;
No twinkling taper from afar
Stood like a hospitable star;

Not even an ignis-fatuus rose
To make him merry with my woes:

That very cheat had cheer'd me then!
Although detected, welcome still,
Reminding me, through every ill,
Of the abodes of men,