The Massachusetts spy, and Worcester County advertiser. [volume] ([Worcester, Mass.]) 1825-1831, 1831-09-07

DIX nasty StTlOeS D6yOUu I0G place.
Then slowly back again;
And down he sat behind the lad,
And talked with him of Cain;
And, long since then, of bloody men,
Whose deeds tradition saves
Ofloney folk cut off unseen,
And hid in sudden graves;
OF horrd stahs, in graves forlorn,
And murders done in caves;
And how the sprites ofinjur'd men
Shrek upward from the sod
Ay, how the ghostly hand will point
To show the burial clod;
And unknown facts of guilty acts
Are seen in dreams from God
He told how murders walk the eayth
Beneath the curse of Cain
With crimson clouds before their eyes.
And flames about their brain:
For blood has left upon their souls
Its everlasting stain
"And well, quoth he, I" | know for truth,
Their pangs must be EXTREME
Wo, wo, unutterable wo-
Who spill life's sacred stream!
For why Mcthought, last night, | wrought
murder in a dream
Zone that had never done me wrong
feeble man, and old
led him to a lonely field,
The moon shone clear and cold
Now here, said l. this man shall die.
And will have his gold!
Two sudden blows with ragged stick.
And one with heavy stone,
One hurried cash with a hasty knife
Al wa nUiir
There was nothing lying at my foot,
But iifeless flesh and bone
Nothing but lifeless flesh and bone,
That could do me ill
And yet fear'd him all the more,
For lying there still
There was manhood in his look,
That murder could not kill!
"And, 10 the universal air
Seemed lit with CHASTITY flame
Ten thousand thousand dreadful eyes
Were looking down in blame:
took the dead man by the hand
And calPd upon his name
"Oh God, it made me quake to see
Such sense within the slain
But when l touch'd the ifeless clay,
The blood gush'd out amain!
For every clot, burning spot,
Was searching in my brain
"My head was like an ardent coal,
My heart as solid ice;
My wretched, wretched soul, l kRew,
was at tne deVlls price
A dozen times groan'd the dead
Had never groan'd but twice;
"And now, from forth the frowning sky,
From the heavens topmost height,
heard a voice-the awful voice
OF the Blood-Avenging Sprite -
Thou guilty man! take up thy dead,
And hide it from my sightn
az! took the dreary body up,
And cast it in a streaM,-
sluggish water, black as ink,
The depth was SO extreme,-
My gentle boy, remember this
Is nothing but dream!
SHOWN went the corpse with hollow plunge,
And vanished in the pool
Anon | cleansed my bloody hands,
And wash'd my forehead cool;
And sat among the urchins young
That evening in the school!
ooh heaven, to think of their white souls,
And mine so black and grim
could not share in childish prayer,
Nor join in evening hymn
Like devil of the pit, seemd,
Mid holy cherubim
"And peace went with them, one and all,
And each calm pillow spread
But guilt was my grim chamberlain
That lighted me to bed;
And drew my midnight curtains round,
With fingers bloody red j.!
"All night lay in agony,
In anguish dark and deep;
My feverd eyes dared not close,
But stared aghast at sleep:
For sin had RENDERED unto her
The keys ofhell to keep!
"All night lay in agony,
From weary chime to chime,
With one besetting horrid hint,
That rack'd me all the time
A mighty ycarning, like the first
Fierce impulse unto crime
cone stern tyrannc thought that made
All other thoughts its slave;
| Stronger and stronger every pulse
Did that temptation crave
! Still urging me to 60 and see
| The dead man in his grave
Heavily rose up, as soon
As light was in the sky,
And sought the black accused pool
| With wild misgvng eye;
And saw the dead in the river bed,
For the faithless stream was dry"
"Merrily rose the lark, and shook
The dew drop from its wing;
But never mark'd its morning flight,
never heard it sing;
For was stopping once again
Under the horrid thing.
"With breathless speed, like soul in chase
took him up aud RAM
There was no time to dig grave