The New Monthly Magazine, Volume 20, Pages 255-256
THE IMAGE IN LAVA.*[1]
Thou thing of years departed!
What ages have gone by,
Since here the mournful seal was set
By Love and Agony!
Temple and tower have moulder'd,
Empires from Earth have pass'd—
And woman's heart hath left a trace
Those glories to outlast!
And childhood's fragile image
Thus fearfully enshrined,
Survives the proud memorials rear'd
By conquerors of mankind!
Babe! wert thou calmly slumbering
Upon thy mother's breast,
When suddenly the fiery tomb
Shut round each gentle guest?
A strange dark fate o'ertook you,
Fair babe and loving heart!
One moment of a thousand pangs—
Yet better than to part!
Haply of that fond bosom
On ashes here impress'd,
Thou wert the only treasure, child!
Whereon a hope might rest.
- ↑ * The impression of a woman's form, with an infant clasped to the bosom, found at the first uncovering of Pompeii.
