The Aurora Borealis.—A Sonnet.
’Tis midnight ; and the world is hushed in sleep:1
Distant and dim the southern mountains lie ;2
The stars are sparkling in the cloudless sky
;3
And hollow murmurs issue from the deep,4
Which, like a mother, sings unto its isles.5
Sure spirits are abroad ! Behold the north6
Like a volcano glows ; and, starting forth,7
Red streaks like Egypt’s pyramids in files—8
Lo ! Superstition, pallid and aghast,9
Starts to his lattice, and beholds in fear,10
Noiseless, the fiery legions thronging fast,11
Portending rapine and rebellion near :12
For well he knows that dark futurity13
Throws forward fiery shadows on the sky !14