Although I tugged at the remorseless chain
And strove to reach that sunbeam, 'twas in vain;
The lambent gleam which broke into the cell
Alone on toad and savage rodent fell.
In vain I wrenched the manacles, in vain
I sought to rend the cruel gyves in twain,
Strove, with contortions painful and extreme,
To lay my head within this gladsome beam,
Or even touch it with the finger-tip;
In vain,—no galling chain relaxed its grip.