Wide Nature felt her woe, and ceased to spring, And withered buds their vigor lost, and fling No more their fragrance to the lifeless air; The fruit-trees died, or barren ceased to bear; The male plants kiss their female plants no more; And pollen on the winds no longer soar To carry their caresses to the seed Of waiting hearts that unavailing bleed, Until they fold their petals in despair, And dying, drop to earth, and wither there. The growing grain no longer fills its head, The fairest fields of corn lie blasted, dead. All Nature mourning dons her sad attire, And plants and trees with falling leaves expire. And Samas' light and moon-god's soothing rays Earth's love no more attracts; recurring days Are shortened by a blackness deep profound That rises higher as the days come round. At last their light flees from the darkened skies, The last faint gleam now passes, slowly dies. Upon a blasted world, dread darkness falls, O'er dying nature, crumbling cities' walls. Volcanoes' fires are now the only light, Where pale-faced men collect around in fright; With fearful cries the lurid air they rend, To all the gods their wild petitions send. [Footnote 1: "Mam-nu-tu," goddess of fate.] [Footnote 2: "Ur-ru," the moon-god.] COLUMN III PAPSUKUL, THE GOD OF HOPE, AND HERALD OF THE GODS, FLIES FROM THE EARTH AND INTERCEDES FOR THE RELEASE OF ISHTAR, AND HEA GRANTS HIS PRAYER O Hope! thou fleeting pleasure of the mind, Forever with us stay, our hearts to bind! We cling to thee till life has fled away; Our dearest phantom, ever with us stay! Without thee, we have naught but dread despair, The worst of all our torments with us here; Oh, come with thy soft pinions, o'er us shine! And we will worship thee, a god divine: The _ignis fatuus_ of all our skies That grandly leads us, vanishes and dies, And we are left to grope in darkness here, Without a ray of light our lives to cheer. Oh, stay! sweet Love's companion, ever stay! And let us hope with love upon our way! We reck not if a phantom thou hast been, And we repent that we have ever seen Thy light on earth to lead us far astray; Forever stay! or ever keep away! When Papsukul beheld in man's abodes The change that spread o'er blasted, lifeless clods, And heard earth's wailing through the waning light, With vegetation passing out of sight, From the doomed world to Heaven he quickly flies, While from the earth are rising fearful cries. To Samas' throne he speeds with flowing tears, And of the future dark he pours his fears. To Sin, the moon-god, Pap-su-kul now cries O'er Ishtar's fate, who in black Hades lies; O'er Earth's dire end, which with Queen Ishtar dies; To Hea he appeals with mournful cries: