Beyond the realm of rulling Care, Caressed by suns and moons most fair, We fain would hye, all wrecks, and lie In dusky forests dells and vales; Beyond the Asian skies of blue, Where sports an elf, mayhap a hare, We fain would haste, each soul, and die, Unfurl all dreams and pinioned sails, And sleep unmourned in haunts we knew, Now wracks and domes stare at each soul, Giant goddards leak a rubic foam; Blind forges hold Contagion's breath; A Morgan longs for earthly home. 'Tis so with hell's eternal shoal Where skinks eat flesh from wenches' bone; 'Tis thus with us purloined by Death, Infernal doom that spells a moan. Ten thousand years was Doom crown'd King; Sporadic prayers each gnarl'd one lisped; Despotic sway all subjects curs'd When Hell was new and Earth unborn: Now souls of man in torture sing, Each Idol's glyph by damn'd one's kiss'd. Who then shall say who is the worst, A vyper's brood or man forsworn? Transcriber's Notes: Spelling has not been altered from the original. The misprint "mournfnl" on page 31 has been corrected to "mournful." The unmatched parenthesis on page 76 is presented as in the original. End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Betelguese, by Jean Louis de Esque