AT FURNESS ABBEY

Composed 1845.—Published 1845

One of the “Miscellaneous Sonnets.”—Ed.

Well have yon Railway Labourers to THIS ground

Withdrawn for noontide rest. They sit, they walk

Among the Ruins, but no idle talk

Is heard; to grave demeanour all are bound;

And from one voice a Hymn with tuneful sound 5

Hallows once more the long-deserted Quire [295]

And thrills the old sepulchral earth, around.

Others look up, and with fixed eyes admire

That wide-spanned arch, wondering how it was raised,

To keep, so high in air, its strength and grace: 10

All seem to feel the spirit of the place,

And by the general reverence God is praised:

Profane Despoilers, stand ye not reproved,

While thus these simple-hearted men are moved?

June 21st, 1845.

[295] See the note to the previous sonnet on Furness Abbey, p. 168.—Ed.