Storm-clouds lour and muster in the Distance-- While, begirt with wrecks by sea and land, Time, upon the far shore of Existence, Counts each wavedrop swallowed by the sand. Generation chases generation, Downbowed by the same tremendous yoke-- No cessation, and no explication-- Birth--_Life_--Death;--the Stillness--_Flash_--and Smoke! Here, then, Frederick, formidable Sovereign! Here in presence of these whitened bones, Swear at length to cherish Peace, and govern So, that Men may learn to reverence Thrones! O! repudiate bloodbought fame, and hearken To the myriad witness-voicéd Dead, Ere the Sternness[3] shall lay down to darken In the Silentness[4] thy crownless head! Shudder at the dire phantasmagory Of the Slain who perished here by thee, And abhor all future wreaths of glory Gathered from the baleful cypress-tree! Lofty souls disdain or dread the laurel-- _Hero_ is a poor exchange for _Man_; _Adders lurk in green spots_: such the moral Taught by History since her school began. Cæsar slain, the victim of his trophies, Bayazeed[5] expiring in his cage, All the Cæsars, all the sabre-Sophies, Preach the same sad homily each age. One drugged winecup dealt with Alexander, And his satraps scarce had shared afresh Half the empires of the World-Commander, Ere the charnel-worms had shared his flesh. Though the rill roll down from Life’s green mountain Bright through festal dells of youthful days, Soon the waters of that glancing fountain In the Vale of Years must moult its rays. There the pilgrim, on the bridge that, bounding Life’s domain, frontiers the wolds of Death, Startled, for the first time hears resounding From Eternity a Voice which saith-- “ALL WHICH IS NOT PURE SHALL MELT AND WITHER-- LO! THE DESOLATOR’S ARM IS BARE, AND WHERE MAN IS, TRUTH SHALL TRACE HIM THITHER, BE HE CURTAINED ROUND WITH GLOOM OR GLARE.” M. [1] A village near Frankfort on the Oder, in which Frederick the Great was defeated on the 12th August 1759, in one of the bloodiest battles of modern times. [2] An allusion to Frederick’s literary pursuits. [3] Death. [4] The Grave. [5] Bajazet II. FINE LADS.