Gaston de Blondeville, or The court of Henry III Keeping festival in Ardenne, a romance. St. Alban's Abbey, a metrical tale; With some poetical pieces. By Anne Radcliffe ... To which is prefixed: A memoir of the author, with extracts from her journals. In four volumes |
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 | Gaston de Blondeville, or The court of Henry III |  |
XXVII.
St. Cuthbert's Chapel had not lentIts wide screen then to veil the choir,
Where now it bounds the nave's ascent
With the carved niche and Gothic spire:
Nor rose before St. Alban's shrine,
In lofty state, as now is seen,
The altar's more elaborate screen;
Of fairy-filagree each line,
Web-work each canopy and cell,
Where many an imaged saint might dwell:
Light are the flowery knots, that twine
Round slender columns, clustered vine,
That to the fretwork cornice go,
Where flowers amid the foliage blow
And wheaten sheafs and roses spread,
Spell of the Abbot and the King
Who raised—to guard St. Alban's bed—
This rich and glorious offering.
| Gaston de Blondeville, or The court of Henry III | |