Conscience! thou God within us! not in the hour
Of triumph dost thou spare the guilty wretch,
Not in the hour of infamy and death
Forsake the virtuous!--
They draw near the stake--
They bring the torch!--hold, hold your erring hands!
Yet quench the rising flames!--O God, protect,
They reach the suffering maid!--O God, protect
The innocent one! They rose, they spread, they raged;--
The breath of God went forth; the ascending fire
Beneath its influence bent, and all its flames,
In one long lightning-flash concentrating,
Darted and blasted Hamuel--him alone!
Hark what a fearful scream the multitude
Pour forth!--and yet more miracles! the stake
Branches and buds, and spreading its green leaves,
Embowers and canopies the innocent maid
Who there stands glorified; and roses, then
First seen on earth since Paradise was lost,
Profusely blossom round her, white and red,
In all their rich variety of hues;
And fragrance such as our first parents breathed
In Eden, she inhales, vouchsafed to her
A presage sure of Paradise regained.
THE BRIDAL OF MALAHIDE.
BY GERALD GRIFFIN.
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