ILLUSTRATION

The Virgin Mountain,wearing like a Queen

A brilliant crown of everlasting snow,

Sheds ruin from her sides; and men below

Wonder that aught of aspect so serene

Can link with desolation. Smooth and green,

And seeming, at a little distance, slow,

The waters of the Rhine; but on they go

Fretting and whitening, keener and more keen;

Till madness seizes on the whole wide Flood,

Turned to a fearful Thing whose nostrils breathe

Blasts of tempestuous smoke — wherewith he tries

To hide himself, but only magnifies;

And doth in more conspicuous torment writhe,

Deafening the region in his ireful mood.