Then came a night of terror and dismay,
Uproar and lightning, with the furious sweep
Of mighty winds, that raged from steep to steep,
And ere it passed the great tree prostrate lay!
Sleepless I mourned until the morning gray;
Then forth I crept, as one who goes to keep
Watch by his dead, too heartsick even to weep,
And hardly daring to behold the day.
Lo! what vast splendor met my startled eyes,
What unimagined space, what vision wide!
Turrets and domes, now blue, now softest green,
In one unbroken circuit kissed the skies;
While, veiled in soft clouds, radiant as a bride,
Shone one far sapphire peak till then unseen!