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    And , from his everlasting seat Descending , here bis prophet meet * Watch ye the fires—and see they burn Brightly as now with sacred glow . Monarch I here wait till my return , If thou the will of Heaven wouldst know ,

    Doubt not I will unfold to thee Whate v er the Lord shall shew to me . " Hasten ed the prophet from their sight To that wild mountain ' s loftiest height ; The king and chiefs bis word obey'd , And kneeling by the altars pray'd . But , lo 1 he comes— -all instant rise And rev ' rently before him bend , As if descended from the

    skies—He speaks—and silent all attend . € From the children of Ammon , the sons of the east . Hath Balak , the king , call ' d bis servant the priest , And the monarch of Moab hath said to the Seer , Come , curse me this host , that hath filPd me with fear : But my tongue from its roots ye shall tear away first Ere I curse whom the God that I serve has not curs'd :

    And how shall these lips , which his spirit doth guide , Ere defy whom the Lord hath himself not defied 1 From the summits of Baal , the God of the earth , Hath shewn me the people he nurs'd from their birth ; Who , O Jacob , can count half the tribes thou dost lead ? As the dust of the earth is thy numberless seed . May the death of the righteous , O Balak , be mine , And the sun of my life as serenely decline !"

    " Prophet ! " the king in anger cried , And grasp ' d his bright sword ' s glittering hilt , " None yet have Balak ' s power defied , Whose blood this sharp blade has not spilt . Of all my priests thou art the first That dar'd to bless whom I have curs'd . " Undaunted answer'd that bold Seer ,

    * ' Tho' like these slaughtered rams I bleed—A fate it seems I well may fear—The word of God his priest must heed : King ! from my lips that word will break When he commands those lips to 3 peak . "—

    " Come , then / ' the monarch said , and seiz'd The prophet ' s mantle as he spoke , € t Thy answer bath my wrath appeased—Fear not this sabre ' s fatal stroke :

    But haste thee to another height , Whence still this host shall meet thy sight . But not as here in prospect wide—Thou shalt but see their ' utmost part ;' The rest a inighty rock shall hide , That fear may leave thy trembling heart : Thence hurl thy curses on yon crowd Like lightning from the thunder-cloud . " Then hurried Balak aftd his train

    Along AlnirinVs rocky chain , Where darkest cliffs—whose rugged 6 ide All tract to human foot denied , Their broken fragments hanging down—Seem'd o ' er the fearful road to frown .

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    362 Poetry . — The Encampment of the Israelites in the Plains of Moab ¦ .

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1826, page 362, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2549/page/46/