In ecstasy we watch the wondrous scene,
But awe and joy are mingled in our mind,
For now far off we hear the thunder peal,
And lowering clouds with lurid lights are lined.
The waters heave with burdensome unrest,
The air is full of shadows of the dead;
The Spirits of the Universe are near,
And we cannot divine their portents dread.
And such is life—an hour of changing scenes
Of fitful joy and quickly following grief;
An hour of buoyant youth in rapid flight,
And then old age to end life—sad and brief!
[9] A vast body of water in some wild and remote part of the Empire, probably in the north-west; but the exact locality is disputed.
[10] The names of two rivers, or the two words combined may mean the clear water of a deep cove or inlet.
[11] A deep gorge in the Chong-nan Mountains in Shen-si.
[12] A famous Pass near Si-ngan, the provincial capital of Shen-si.
[13] A fabulous Dragon whose mythological ancestry and habitat I am unable to trace.
[14] Ping-i, name of the Chinese God of Waters.
[15] Nü-Ying and Ngo-Hwang, daughters of the Emperor Yao, and wives of the Emperor Shun (2288 b.c.?).