9
V.
Descend we next to where the beetling clifts
Hang their high cornice o'er the margent steep,
Whose uncouth slope their crumbling fragments heap,
Sole track to yon dark portal, n that uplifts
In gothic guise its pointed crown, and leads
To the dread cloister, in whose vaulted groin
The shelving beds and gushing billows join,
And rock and river blend their arched heads.
There crawl the slimy reptiles of the deep,
Glazing th' obnoxious path, and dimly seen
By the dull lantern of that drizzling skreen;
Through which day's beams with faint refraction peep,
A baleful radiance pale, that gives the night
Perplexing gleams obscure, the shades of tortured light.
Hang their high cornice o'er the margent steep,
Whose uncouth slope their crumbling fragments heap,
Sole track to yon dark portal, n that uplifts
In gothic guise its pointed crown, and leads
To the dread cloister, in whose vaulted groin
The shelving beds and gushing billows join,
And rock and river blend their arched heads.
There crawl the slimy reptiles of the deep,
Glazing th' obnoxious path, and dimly seen
By the dull lantern of that drizzling skreen;
Through which day's beams with faint refraction peep,
A baleful radiance pale, that gives the night
Perplexing gleams obscure, the shades of tortured light.
