Page:Fugitive Poetry 1600-1878.djvu/241
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
ON VISITING THE RUINS.
223
There were thousands of fathoms above,
And thousands of fathoms below,
And we sank to the oaves where the sea-lions rove,
And the topaz and emerald glow;
Where the diamond and sapphire eternally shed
Their lustre around on the bones of the dead.
And thousands of fathoms below,
And we sank to the oaves where the sea-lions rove,
And the topaz and emerald glow;
Where the diamond and sapphire eternally shed
Their lustre around on the bones of the dead.
And well might their lustre be bright,
For they shone on the limbs of the brave,
Of those who had fought in the terrible fight,
And were buried at last in the wave.
In grottos of coral they slept,
On white beds of pearl around,
And near them for ever the water-snake crept,
And the sea-lion guarded the ground,
While the dirge of the heroes by spirits were rung,
And solemn and wild were the strains that they sung.
For they shone on the limbs of the brave,
Of those who had fought in the terrible fight,
And were buried at last in the wave.
In grottos of coral they slept,
On white beds of pearl around,
And near them for ever the water-snake crept,
And the sea-lion guarded the ground,
While the dirge of the heroes by spirits were rung,
And solemn and wild were the strains that they sung.
On Seeing Burleigh Castle.
In reverend guise this ancient pile survey,
Girded with oaks whose tinted foliage gleams
With Autumn's golden hue. Now lengthening streams
Between their hoary trunks the western ray,
As smiles the slowly parting orb of day
Full on these lofty halls are flung his beams,
Where Time's ennobling touch has furnished themes,
That rouse the soul through centuries to stray.
I see our maiden queen beside me sweep—
I shrink beneath the lightning of her glance,
Or view that lofty form relaxed in sleep,
Her mind's vast powers bound up as in a trance,
Till all these splendid scenes in dimness fade,
Lost in the glory of that awful shade.
Girded with oaks whose tinted foliage gleams
With Autumn's golden hue. Now lengthening streams
Between their hoary trunks the western ray,
As smiles the slowly parting orb of day
Full on these lofty halls are flung his beams,
Where Time's ennobling touch has furnished themes,
That rouse the soul through centuries to stray.
I see our maiden queen beside me sweep—
I shrink beneath the lightning of her glance,
Or view that lofty form relaxed in sleep,
Her mind's vast powers bound up as in a trance,
Till all these splendid scenes in dimness fade,
Lost in the glory of that awful shade.
On Visiting the Ruins of Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire.
On princely Kenilworth's romantic site
I stand, enwrapped in shadows of the past!
Those time-clad remnants, yet sublimely vast,
Memorials of magnificence and might,
I stand, enwrapped in shadows of the past!
Those time-clad remnants, yet sublimely vast,
Memorials of magnificence and might,