Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
England: Vols. I–IV. 1876–79. | | | | Wardour Castle | | Wardour Castle | | William Lisle Bowles (1762–1850) |
| | | IF rich designs of sumptuous art may please, | |
| Or nature’s loftier views august and old, | |
| Stranger! behold this spreading scene;—behold | |
| This amphitheatre of aged trees | |
| That solemn wave above thee, and around | 5 |
| Darken the towering hills! Dost thou complain | |
| That thou shouldst cope with penury or pain, | |
| Or sigh to think what pleasures might be found | |
| Amid such wide possessions!—Pause awhile; | |
| Imagine thou dost see the sick man smile; | 10 |
| See the pale exiles that in yonder dome, | |
| Safe from the wasteful storm, have found a home; | |
| And thank the Giver of all good, that lent | |
| To the humane, retired, beneficent | |
| The power to bless. Nor lift thy heart elate | 15 |
| If such domains be thine; but emulate | |
| The fair example, and those deeds that rise | |
| Like holy incense wafted to the skies; | |
| Those deeds that shall sustain the conscious soul, | |
| When all this empty world hath perished like a scroll! | 20 | | | |
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