ST. CATHERINE OF LEDBURY
Composed 1835.—Published 1835
[Written on a journey from Brinsop Court, Herefordshire.—I.F.]
One of the “Miscellaneous Sonnets.”—Ed.
When human touch (as monkish books attest)
Nor was applied nor could be, Ledbury bells
Broke forth in concert flung adown the dells,
And upward, high as Malvern’s cloudy crest;[52]
Sweet tones, and caught by a noble Lady blest 5
To rapture! Mabel listened at the side
Of her loved mistress: soon the music died,
And Catherine said, Here I set up my rest.
Warned in a dream, the Wanderer long had sought
A home that by such miracle of sound 10
Must be revealed:—she heard it now, or felt
The deep, deep joy of a confiding thought;
And there, a saintly Anchoress, she dwelt
Till she exchanged for heaven that happy ground.
[52] The Ledbury bells are easily audible on the Malvern hills.—Ed.
“BY A BLEST HUSBAND GUIDED, MARY CAME”[53]
Published 1835
[This lady was named Carleton; she, along with a sister, was brought up in the neighbourhood of Ambleside. The epitaph, a part of it at least, is in the church at Bromsgrove, where she resided after her marriage.—I.F.]
One of the “Epitaphs and Elegiac Pieces.”—Ed.
By a blest Husband guided, Mary came
From nearest kindred, Vernon[54] her new name;
She came, though meek of soul, in seemly pride
Of happiness and hope, a youthful Bride.
O dread reverse! if aught be so, which proves 5
That God will chasten whom he dearly loves.
Faith bore her up through pains in mercy given,
And troubles that were each a step to Heaven:
Two Babes were laid in earth before she died;
A third now slumbers at the Mother’s side; 10
Its Sister-twin survives, whose smiles afford
A trembling solace to her widowed Lord.
Reader! if to thy bosom cling the pain
Of recent sorrow combated in vain;
Or if thy cherished grief have failed to thwart 15
Time still intent on his insidious part,
Lulling the mourner’s best good thoughts asleep,
Pilfering regrets we would, but cannot, keep;
Bear with Him—judge Him gently who makes known
His bitter loss by this memorial Stone; 20
And pray that in his faithful breast the grace
Of resignation find a hallowed place.
[53] 1837.
In the edition of 1835 the title was “Epitaph.”
[54] 1837.
From nearest kindred, …
1835.