HENCE in old time, they say, a deluge came;
When the disparting orb of earth, that arch'd
Th' imprison'd deep around, impetuous rush'd,
With ruin inconceivable, at once
Into the gulph, and o'er the highest hills
Wide-dash'd the waves, in undulation vast:
'Till, from the centre to the streaming clouds,
A shoreless ocean tumbled round the globe.