The following is reprinted from The Student, or, The Oxford and Cambridge Monthly Miscellany (1751), for your grueful diversion (with the original explanatory footnotes). A tip for modern readers: eighteenth century printing used the 'long s' [ſ] at the beginning and in the middle of words, and the 'short s' [s] at the end. It can take a little getting used to, but I've retained it because I think it adds to the archaic charm of the piece.
In the ALLEGORIC, DESCRIPTIVE, ALLITERATIVE, EPITHETICAL, FANTASTIC, HYPERBOLICAL, and DIABOLICAL STYLE of our modern ODE-WRIGHTS, and MONODY-MONGERS.
----- Ferreus ingruit Horror. VIRG.
O Goddeſs of the gloomy ſcene,
Of ſhadowy ſhapes thou black-brow'd queen ;
Thy treſſes dark with ivy crown'd,
On yonder mould'ring abbey found ;
Oft wont from charnels damp and dim,
To call the ſheeted ſpectre grim,
While as his looſe chains loudly clink,
Thou add'ſt a length to every link :
O thou, that lov'ſt at eve to ſeek
The penſive-pacing pilgrim meek,
And ſett'ſt before his ſhudd'ring eyes
Strange forms, and fiends of giant-ſize,
As wildly works thy wizard will,
Till fear-ſtruck fancy has her fill :
Dark pow'r, whoſe magic might prevails
O'er hermit-rocks, and fairy-vales ;
O goddeſs, erſt, by * SPENSER view'd,
What time th' enchanter vile embru'd,
His hands in FLORIMEL's pure heart,
Till loos'd by ſteel-clad BRITOMART :
O thou that erſt on fancy's wing
Didſt terror-trembling † TASSO bring,
To groves, where kept damn'd furies dire
Their blazing battlements of fire :
Thou that thro' many a darkſom pine,
O'er the rugged rock recline,
Did'ſt wake the hollow-whiſpr'ing breeze
With care-conſumed ELOISE :
O thou, with whom in chearleſs cell,
The midnight clock pale pris'ners tell ;
O haſte thee, mild Miltonic maid,
From yonder yew's ſequeſter'd ſhade ;
More bright than all the fabled Nine,
Teach me to breathe the ſolemn line !
O bid my well-rang'd numbers riſe
Pervious to none but Attic eyes ;
O give the ſtrain that madneſs moves,
Till every ſtarting ſenſe approves !
What felt the Gallic ‡ traveller,
When far in Arab-deſert drear,
He found within the catacomb,
Alive, the terrors of a tomb ?
While many a mummy thro' the ſhade,
In hieroglyphic ſtole array'd,
Seem'd to uprear the myſtic head,
And trace the gloom with ghoſtly tread ;
Thou heardſt him pour the ſtifled groan,
HORROR ! his ſoul was all thy own !
O mother of the fire-clad thoughts,
O haſte thee from thy grave-like grot !
(What time the witch perform'd her rite,)
Sprung from th' embrace of TASTE and Night !
O queen ! that erſt did'ſt thinly ſpread
The willowy leaves o'er ISIS' head,
And to her meek mien didſt diſpenſe
Woe's moſt awful negligence ;
What time, in cave, with viſage pale,
She told her elegiac tale :
O thou ! whom wand'ring WARTON ſaw,
Amaz'd with more than youthful awe,
As by the pale moon's glimm'ring gleam
He mus'd his melancholy theme :
O curfeu-loving goddeſs haſte !
O waft me, to ſome SCYTHIAN waſte,
Where, in Gothic ſolitude,
Mid proſpects moſt ſublimely rude,
Beneath a rough rock's gloomy chaſm,
Thy ſiſter ſits, ENTHUSIASM :
Let me with her, in magic trance,
Hold moſt delirious dalliance ;
Till I, thy penſive votary,
HORROR, look madly wild like thee ;
Until I gain true tranſport's ſhore,
And life's retiring ſcene is o'er,
Aſpire to ſome more azure ſky,
Remote from dim mortality ;
At length, recline the fainting head,
In Druid-dreams diſſolv'd and dead !
Chriſt-church
April 11, 1751 CHIMÆRICUS OXONIENSIS
* SPENSER's Fairy Queen, B. 3. Canto 12.
† Gier. Liberat. B. 14.
‡ Alluding to a ſtory of a French gentleman (mention'd by ſeveral Oriental travellers) who going into the catacombs, not far from Cairo, with ſome Arabs his guides, was there robb'd by them, and left ; a huge ſtone being plac'd over the entrance. I don't remember that any poetical uſe has been made of this ſtory.
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