Page:The Emigrants.pdf/58

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[ 54 ]

Which ever, as the people of one land
Meet in contention, fires the human heart
With savage thirst of kindred blood, and makes
Man lose his nature; rendering him more fierce
Than the gaunt monsters of the howling waste.
    Oft have I heard the melancholy tale,
Which, all their native gaiety forgot,
These Exiles tell­—How Hope impell'd them on,
Reckless of tempest, hunger, or the sword,
Till order'd to retreat, they knew not why,
From all their flattering prospects, they became
The prey of dark suspicion and regret6[1]:
Then, in despondence, sunk the unnerv'd arm
Of gallant Loyalty­—At every turn
Shame and disgrace appear'd, and seem'd to mock
Their scatter'd squadrons; which the warlike youth,