THE VISION OF JUDGEMENT
XVI
Saint Peter sat by the celestial gate,
And nodded o'er his keys: when, lo! there came
A wondrous noise he had not heard of late-
A rushing sound of wind, and stream, and flame;
In short, a roar of things extremely great,
Which would have made aught save a Saint exclaim;
But he, with first a start and then a wink,
Said, “There's another star gone out, I think!”
XVII
But ere he could return to his repose,
A Cherub flapped his right wing o'er his eyes-
At which Saint Peter yawned, and rubbed his nose:
“Saint porter,” said the angel, “prithee rise!”
Waving a gooddly wing, which glowed, as glows
An earthly peacock's tail, with heavenly dyes:
To which the saint replied, “Well, what's the matter?
Is Lucifer come back with all this clatter?”
XVIII
“No,” quoth the Cherub: “George the Third is dead.”
“And who is George the Third?” replied the apostle:
“What George? What Third?” “The King of England,” said
The angel. “Well, he won't find kings to jostle
Him on his way; but does he wear his head?
Beacuse the last we saw here had a tustle,
And ne'er would have got into Heaven's good graces,
Had he not flung his head in all our faces.
XXIII
While thus they spake, the angelic caravan,
Arriving like a rush of mighty wind,
Cleaving the fields of space, as doth the swan
Some silver stream (say Ganges, Nile, or Inde,
Or Thames, or Tweed), and midst them an old man
With an old soul, and both extremely blind,
Halted before the gate, and, in his shroud,
Seated their fellow -traveller on a cloud.(1822)
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