I have beheld Nature and Art at war, br For on this summer eve the thunder pealed, br Where the Pilatus threat'ning raised his steeled br And crested helmet o'er the smoking bar, br That wreathed its rival column from afar, br And in its snowy crevices revealed br The glowing emulation, field on field, br Of thick mists, lighted by the lightning's star. br br And here the mighty building rocked and heaved br Under the organ's thunders that awoke br Beneath the fingers of the Silent One. br And the rain hissed, as we had fain believed, br And the pines crashed beneath the lightning's stroke, br And the fear-stricken hunters shriek and run.