 | The poetical works of James Montgomery |  |
362
II.
More beautiful in ruin than in prime,
Methinks this frail yet firm memorial stands,
The work of heads laid low, and buried hands:
—Now slowly mouldering to the touch of time,
It looks abroad, unconsciously sublime,
Where sky above and earth beneath expands:
—And yet a nobler relic still demands
The grateful homage of a passing rhyme.
Methinks this frail yet firm memorial stands,
The work of heads laid low, and buried hands:
—Now slowly mouldering to the touch of time,
It looks abroad, unconsciously sublime,
Where sky above and earth beneath expands:
—And yet a nobler relic still demands
The grateful homage of a passing rhyme.
Beneath the cliff yon humble roof behold!
Poor as our Saviour's birthplace; yet a fold,
Where the good shepherd, in this quiet vale,
Gathers his flock, and feeds them, as of old,
With bread from heaven:—I change my note;—all hail!
The glory of the Lord is risen upon thee, Dale!
Poor as our Saviour's birthplace; yet a fold,
Where the good shepherd, in this quiet vale,
Gathers his flock, and feeds them, as of old,
With bread from heaven:—I change my note;—all hail!
The glory of the Lord is risen upon thee, Dale!
| The poetical works of James Montgomery | |