word the
celestial messenger snatched me up to the firmament of the accursed
kingdom of Darkness, by a way I had not seen, whence I obtained, from the
palace along all the firmament of the black and hot _Destruction_, and
the whole _land of Forgetfulness_, even to the walls of the _city of
Destruction_, a full view of the accursed monster of a _giantess_, whose
feet I had seen before--I do not possess words to describe her figure.
But I can tell you that she was a _triple-faced giantess_, having one
very atrocious countenance turned towards the heavens, barking, snorting
and vomiting accursed abomination against the celestial king; another
countenance very fair towards the _earth_, to entice men to tarry in her
shadow; and another, the most frightful countenance of all, turned
towards _Hell_, to torment it to all eternity. She is larger than the
entire earth, and is yet daily increasing, and a hundred times more
frightful than the whole of Hell. She caused Hell to be made, and it is
she who fills it with inhabitants. If _she_ were removed from Hell, Hell
would become Paradise; and if she were removed from the earth, the little
world would become Heaven; and if she were to go to Heaven, she would
change the regions of bliss into utter Hell. There is nothing in all the
universe, (except herself,) that God did not create. She is the mother
of the four female deceivers of the city of Destruction; she is the
mother of _Death_; she is the mother of every _evil_ and _misery_; and
she has a fearful hold on every living man--her name is SIN. "_He who
escapes from her hook_, _for ever blessed is he_!" said the angel.
Thereupon he departed, and I could hear his voice saying, "_write down
what thou hast seen_, _and he who shall read it carefully shall never
have reason to repent_."

The Heavy Heart.

Heavy's the heart with wandering below,
And with seeing the things in the country of woe;
Seeing lost men and the fiendish race,
In their very horrible prison place;
Seeing that the end of the crooked track
Is a flaming lake,
Where dragon and snake
With rage are swelling.
I'd not, o'er a thousand worlds to reign,
Behold again,
Though safe from pain,
The infernal dwelling.

Heavy's my heart, whilst so vividly
The place is yet in my memory;
To see so many, to me well known,
Thither unwittingly sinking down.
To-day a hell-dog is yesterday's man,
And he has no plan,
But others to trepan