| |
| THOU art noble yet, for thy ruins recall | |
| The remembrance of vanished glory; | |
| And Time, which has levelled the ancient hall, | |
| Still spares thee to tell of its story. | |
| |
| O’er thy crumbling arch the sculptured shield, | 5 |
| In spite of spoil’s bereavement, | |
| Is left as a relic, on which are revealed | |
| The insignia of a bold achievement. | |
| |
| When first they were graven, to honor’s eye | |
| Their emblazonment shone forth brightly; | 10 |
| But now the rustic passes them by, | |
| And thinks of their legend lightly. | |
| |
| It boots but little. To rise, and fall, | |
| And leave but a wreck to outlive them, | |
| Is, as it should be, the lot of all | 15 |
| Who trust in what pride can give them. | |
| |
| There are thoughts more touching than those which rise | |
| From pride’s departed splendor; | |
| And thine is connected with countless ties, | |
| Which waken ideas more tender. | 20 |
| |
| The heart, with its griefs, joys, hopes, and fears, | |
| Changes little in passions and powers; | |
| And theirs, who sojourned here in distant years, | |
| Cherished feelings the same as ours! | |
| |
| For they lived, and they loved like us; and this | 25 |
| Was their home, in pain and pleasure; | |
| And the best of them hoarded here their bliss, | |
| As the miser his hidden treasure. | |
| |
| And now, when the trappings of glory fade, | |
| And its sunniest heights are shrouded, | 30 |
| The beams of affection, that brightened its shade, | |
| Are to Memory’s eye unclouded. | |
| |
| To the heart, to the heart, we must turn at last, | |
| For all that endures the longest; | |
| Its better feelings no blight can blast, | 35 |
| For their strength is in storms the strongest. | |
| |
| But in storm or sunshine ’t is theirs alone | |
| To leave that enchantment behind them | |
| Which gives them an influence all must own, | |
| By Nature herself assigned them. | 40 |
| |
| Thou art noble yet, thou desolate pile! | |
| For the trophies of fame enwreathe thee; | |
| But that fame is not worth one tear or smile | |
| Of some who have passed underneath thee. | |
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