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Fiercely tUe fires they kindled bura , Darkly the clouds of smoke arise ; All to the prophet fearful turn , Who , heedless , stands with downcast eyes . Dire rage in Balak ' s bosom rose—Trembled his lips and shook his frame—Gasping he cried , " Curse me these foes ,
Or thro' this all-devouring flame Shall instant pass tby body , Seer , To Moloch , who is worshiped here I ' He struck against a cliff his lance ,
Fill shivering in his hand it broke—• The prophet stood , as in a trance , Unconscious of the angry stroke ,
Tho' loud the mountain with the shock Echoed afar from rock to rock . Now chang'd the monarch ' s rage to fear . And all his chiefs stood trembling near . So motionless the Seer remain ed , It seemM as if some pow e rful spell His every limb and sense had
chain'dA charm his sorcery could not quell . At length , as from a sleep he woke , His eye resum'd its faded light , With rapturous energy he spoke ,
Whilst gazing from that lofty height : ' Plow lovely , O Jacob , thy tents where they stand , Spread forth as the measureless vales of the land : As gardens by rivers whose waters are clear , When cover'd with blossoms , thy dwellings appear ; Like sweet flowering aloes in beauty they rise ,
Like cedars that lift their tall heads to the skies ! As the waves of the sea without limit or end , Thy reign o ' er the nations shall widely extend ; The secrets of ocean thy sons shall explore , And the wealth of the ocean shall come to thy shore ; Thy king shall surpass even Agag in power , And ^ is throne o ' er the thrones of proud monarchs shall tower .
The chains of thy bondage God fearfully broke And led thee triumphant from Egypt ' s proud yoke : Thou art strong as the unicorn * rushing in rage—Who can stand in the battles thy valour shall wage ?
* The Hebrew word CDtt ") ( ram ) lias had different significations given to it by different interpreters . In the Septuagint it is rendered in every passage in which it occurs , except one , ( Isa . xxxiv . 7 , ) by the Greek term [ Aovonepajq , and our translators , supposing this interpretation to be correct , have rendered it by a term of like signification , borrowed from the Latin unicormis , viz . unicorn , which I have retained m the line above , merelv he cause it suited the measure of the verse . The ^ reat
objection to this term is , that the unicorn is now considered a fabulous animal , and Jater interpreters , for this reason , reject ir , supposing the original to mean the rhinoceros . I confess fhe arguments deduced in defence of the latter signification appear to me very strong : but having lately met with a passage in a recent publication , asserting the real existence of the unicorn , I shall transcribe it , as it contains strong , if not deceive , evidence in support of the assertion : " To-day the unicorn coming upon the tapis , his Lordship ( Lord Hastings ) observed , that he had no doubt
of its actual existence . During his presidency in India , a native , from the interior , was desired to sketch out such animals as he had seen , with charcoal , and to give some description of their mode of life , for the purpose of ascertaining whether he was familiar with any that were unknown to Europeans . Amongst tihe rest he drew a iifiicorn , at the same time being totally ignorant of the curiosity attached to it . It was delineated with the horn somewhat curved and ( 1 think his Lordship said ) fluted . Its feef resembled those of a stag , and its tail was curled or twisted , like that of a
Untitled Article
364 Poetry . —The J 3 neampment of the Israelites in the Plains of Btomb .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1826, page 364, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2549/page/48/
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