None are exempt from thy stroke, O thou lawless power! thou stretchest
out thine hand and levellest alike, the rich, the poor, the brave, and
the base. When thou givest the sign they are forced to obey--to prepare
for the awful moment. Some thou layest on a languishing bed of sickness;
and again some, who are, to all appearance, in the full enjoyment of
health, thou called hence in a moment unexpected, when they, perhaps,
are planning a way for future life. In an instant all that in
imagination they have been erecting is brought to nought; and, for the
first time, they behold themselves _creatures of a moment_.
The gentle, the amiable, the accomplished ELMIRA was forced to obey thy
stern mandate while yet in the bloom of youth. Methought thou didst a
little relent of thy savage cruelty, when thou sawest the victim thou
hadst sought out for the purpose of wreaking thy fury on. The thought
was illusive, although for a few minutes after thou hadst first aimed
the dart, the finishing of thy work seemed suspended---yet it proved too
sure.
In idea I have figured out thy portrait. Thou art of a pale visage,
thine eyes dry, and the balls glaring like fire; they never dropped one
pitying tear, and are therefore strangers to moisture. Thy cheeks are
dry and hard; and thy teeth grinning a ghastly smile, as if pleased that
the life of man is in thy power. In thy hand is grasped a barbed weapon,
which thou aimest at the heart, and playest at thy will, and which none
can withstand.----I must stop; for what I have pourtrayed fills me with
horror.