The proud lion trembled and hush’d his roar,

The tigress crouch’d in fear;

The angry sea beat the shuddering shore,

And the deafening voice of the elements’ war

Burst terribly on the ear.

I stood by the bed where the prisoner lay;

The lamp gave a fitful light:

His soul was struggling to pass away;

Oh, God! how I pray’d for the coming of day!

Death was awful in such a night.