'Where sculptured temples once appeared to sight,
Now dismal ruins meet the moon's pale light,--
Where regal pomp once shone with gorgeous ray,
And kings successive held their transient sway;--
Where once the priest his sacred victims led
And on the altars their warm lifeblood shed,--
Where swollen rivers once had amply flowed
And splendid galleys down the stream had rowed,
A dreary wilderness now meets the view,
And nought but Memory can trace the clue!'