My bosom's lord sits lightly on his throne.—Ed.
XXVII
IMAGINATIVE REGRETS
Deep is the lamentation! Not alone
From Sages justly honoured by mankind;
But from the ghostly tenants of the wind,
Demons and Spirits, many a dolorous groan
Issues for that dominion overthrown: 5
Proud Tiber grieves, and far-off Ganges, blind
As his own worshippers: and Nile, reclined
Upon his monstrous urn, the farewell moan
Renews.[181] Through every forest, cave, and den,
Where frauds were hatched of old, hath sorrow past—
Hangs o'er the Arabian Prophet's native Waste,[182] 11
Where once his airy helpers[183] schemed and planned
'Mid spectral[184] lakes bemocking thirsty men,[185]
And stalking pillars built of fiery sand.[186]
FOOTNOTES:
[181] Compare the echo of the Lady's voice in the lines To Joanna, in the "Poems on the Naming of Places" (vol. ii. p. 157).—Ed.
[182] The desert around Mecca.—Ed.
[183] Mahomet affirmed that he had constant visits from angels; and that the angel Gabriel dictated to him the Koran.—Ed.
[184] 1837.
'Mid phantom ... 1822.