Be this the chosen site; the virgin sod,
Moistened from age to age by dewy eve,
Shall disappear, and grateful earth receive
The corner-stone from hands that build to God.
Yon reverend hawthorns, hardened to the rod 5
Of winter storms, yet budding cheerfully;
Those forest oaks of Druid memory,
Shall long survive, to shelter the Abode
Of genuine Faith. Where, haply, 'mid this band
Of daisies, shepherds sate of yore and wove 10
May-garlands, there let[327] the holy altar stand
For kneeling adoration;—while—above,
Broods, visibly portrayed, the mystic Dove,
That shall protect from blasphemy the Land.
FOOTNOTES:
[326] This, and the two following sonnets, were probably the first composed of these "Ecclesiastical Sketches." The "church to be erected" was a new one built on Coleorton Moor by Sir George Beaumont. (See Prefatory note to the series, p. [1].)—Ed.
[327] 1840.
May-garlands, let ... 1822.
XL
CONTINUED
Mine ear has rung, my spirit[328] sunk subdued,
Sharing the strong emotion of the crowd,
When each pale brow to dread hosannas bowed
While clouds of incense mounting veiled the rood,
That glimmered like a pine-tree dimly viewed 5
Through Alpine vapours. Such appalling rite
Our Church prepares not, trusting to the might
Of simple truth with grace divine imbued;
Yet will we not conceal the precious Cross,
Like men ashamed:[329] the Sun with his first smile
Shall greet that symbol crowning the low Pile: 11
And the fresh air of incense-breathing morn[330]
Shall wooingly embrace it; and green moss
Creep round its arms through centuries unborn.