Their portraiture the lateral windows hide,
Glimmers their corresponding stone-work, dyed
With ... 1822.
XLV
CONTINUED
They dreamt not of a perishable home
Who thus could build.[336] Be mine, in hours of fear
Or grovelling thought, to seek a refuge here;
Or through the aisles of Westminster to roam;
Where bubbles burst, and folly's dancing foam 5
Melts, if it cross the threshold; where the wreath
Of awe-struck wisdom droops: or let my path
Lead to that younger Pile, whose sky-like dome[337]
Hath typified by reach of daring art
Infinity's embrace; whose guardian crest, 10
The silent Cross, among the stars shall spread
As now, when She hath also seen her breast
Filled with mementos, satiate with its part
Of grateful England's overflowing Dead.
FOOTNOTES:
[336] Compare The Excursion, book v. l. 145—
Not raised in nice proportions was the pile;
But large and massy; for duration built.
[337] St. Paul's Cathedral, designed by Sir Christopher Wren (1675-1710).—Ed.