ature starting from repose
Heard the dire shrieks of murder burst--
From infant innocence they rose,
And shook these solemn towers!--
I shudd'ring pass that fatal room
For ages wrapt in central gloom;--
I shudd'ring pass that iron door
Which Fate perchance unlocks no more;
Death, smear'd with blood, o'er the dark portal lowers.

[A] The anniversary of the murder of Edward the Fifth, and his brother
Richard, Duke of York.

II.

How fearfully my step resounds
Along these lonely bounds:--
Spare, savage blast! the taper's quiv'ring fires,
Deep in these gath'ring shades its flame expires.
Ye host of heaven! the door recedes--
It mocks my grasp--what unseen hands
Have burst its iron bands?
No mortal force this gate unbarr'd
Where danger lives, which terrors guard--
Dread powers! its screaming hinges close
On this dire scene of impious deeds--
My feet are fix'd!--Dismay has bound
My step on this polluted ground--
But lo! the pitying moon, a line of light
Athwart the horrid darkness dimly throws,
And from yon grated window chases night.--

III.

Ye visions that before me roll,
That freeze my blood, that shake my soul!
Are ye the phantoms of a dream?
Pale spectres! are ye what ye seem?
They glide more near--
Their forms unfold!
Fix'd are their eyes, on me they bend--
Their glaring look is cold!
And hark!--I hear
Sounds that the throbbing pulse of life suspend.

IV.

"No wild illusion cheats thy sight
"With shapes that only live in night--
"Mark the native glories spread
"Around my bleeding brow!
"The crown of Albion wreath'd my head,
"And Gallia's lilies[A] twin'd below--
"When my father shook his spear,
"When his banner sought the skies,
"Her baffled host recoil'd with fear,
"Nor turn'd their shrinking eyes:--
"Soon as the daring eagle springs
"To bask in heav'n's empyreal light,
"The vultures ply their baleful wings,
"A cloud of deep'ning colour marks their flight,
"Staining the golden day:--
"But see! amid the rav'nous brood
"A bird of fiercer aspect soar--
"The spirits of a rival race[B],
"Hang on the noxious blast, and trace,
"With gloomy joy his destin'd prey;
"Inflame th' ambitious with that thirsts for blood,
"And plunge his talons deep in kindred gore.

[A] Henry the Sixth, crowned when an infant, at Paris.