He had a sister--she, alas! is gone,
Body and soul. Sir! for she married one
Unworthy of her. Many a corpse he took
From this churchyard." And then his head he shook,
And utter'd--whispering low, as if in fear
That the old stones and senseless dead would hear--
A word, a verb, a noun, too widely famed,
Which makes me blush to hear my country named.
That word he utter'd, gazing on my face,
As if he loath'd my thoughts, then paus'd a space.
"Sir," he resumed, "a sad death Hannah died;
Her husband--kill'd her, or his own son lied.
Vain is your voyage o'er the briny wave,
If here you seek her grave--she had no grave!
The terror-stricken murderer fled before
His crime was known, and ne'er was heard of more.
The poor boy died, sir! uttering fearful cries
In his last dreams, and with his glaring eyes,
And troubled hands, seem'd acting, as it were,
His mother's fate. Yes, Sir, his grave is there."
* * * * *
THE SELECTOR AND LITERARY NOTICES OF NEW WORKS.
LANDERS' DISCOVERY OF THE TERMINATION OF THE NIGER
Our readers are already in possession of the outline of this memorable
journey; though nothing but an attentive perusal of the Discoverers'
Narrative can afford them the remotest idea of the dangers they
encountered in their progress.
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