THE

PRISONER OF CHILLON.

A POEM

BY LORD BYRON.

LAUSANNE.

HIGNOU & COMPANY. BOOK-SELLERS.

1 81 8.

12 0.588 (5)

SONNET ON CHILLON.

ETERNAL Spirit of the chainless mind!
Brightest in dungeons, Liberty! thou art,
For there thy habitation is the heart-
The heart which love of thee alone can bind;
And when thy sons to fetters are consigned-

To fetters, and the damp vault's dayless gloom,
Their country conquers with their martyrdom,
And Freedom's fame finds wings on every wind.
a 2

Chillon! thy prison is a holy place,

And thy sad floor an altar-for 'twas trod, Until his very steps have left a trace

Worn, as if thy cold pavement were a sod, By Bonnivard!'-May none those marks efface! For they appeal from tyranny to God.