Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Asia: Vols. XXI–XXIII. 1876–79.

Arabia: Hor, the Mount

Mount Hor

By Nicholas Michell (1807–1880)

(From Ruins of Many Lands)

WHERE famed Mount Hor lifts high his barren peak,

And, king of air, the eagle whets his beak,

I climb in awe, pass many a nameless cave,

And reach at length the Hebrew’s holy grave.

And here he sleeps, above the world serene;

As thus against the mouldering slabs I lean,

And gaze on yonder heaven, whose dewy tears

Have wet these blocks for dark uncounted years,

My bosom thrills, and heated Fancy’s eye

Sees Aaron’s ancient spirit hovering nigh,

Calm waiting, till Heaven’s final thunders roll,

And call the dust to join the undying soul.