 | Household Verses |  |
198
HELMINGHAM HALL.
“The stately homes of England!
How beautiful they stand,
Amidst their tall ancestral trees,
O'er all the pleasant land!”
Hemans.
How beautiful they stand,
Amidst their tall ancestral trees,
O'er all the pleasant land!”
Hemans.
Such is this ancient moated Hall;
And on it as I fondly gaze,
Well may it unto thought recall
The visions of departed days.
And on it as I fondly gaze,
Well may it unto thought recall
The visions of departed days.
Imagination might, at will,
Bring back its revelry and mirth;
And people its apartments still
With inmates proud, of noble birth.
Bring back its revelry and mirth;
And people its apartments still
With inmates proud, of noble birth.
199
Such, in youth's visionary hour,
Had been, perchance, my chosen theme,
Till, duped by Fancy's vivid power,
I half believed her idle dream.
Had been, perchance, my chosen theme,
Till, duped by Fancy's vivid power,
I half believed her idle dream.
But now far stronger is the spell,
Beyond what words can e'er express,
Which unto thought appears to dwell
In its own silent loneliness!
Beyond what words can e'er express,
Which unto thought appears to dwell
In its own silent loneliness!
Though much of what was gay and bright,
Which once its earlier annals crowned,
And seemed to lend it life and light,
Within its walls no more be found;
Which once its earlier annals crowned,
And seemed to lend it life and light,
Within its walls no more be found;
Enough is left to tell a tale
Of all of which the world is proud;
And waken thoughts of more avail
Than those which court us in a crowd!
Of all of which the world is proud;
And waken thoughts of more avail
Than those which court us in a crowd!
For many a relic still is there
Of its old pomp and pageantry;
Of fashions—that once charmed its fair,
And swayed its gallant chivalry.
Of its old pomp and pageantry;
Of fashions—that once charmed its fair,
And swayed its gallant chivalry.
200
And some there are of purer grace,
To win the eye, to reach the heart;
Where admiration yet may trace
The touches of a master's art.
To win the eye, to reach the heart;
Where admiration yet may trace
The touches of a master's art.
Memorials on its walls yet live,
Bright tints, fair forms, which time defy;
Imparting all that these can give
Of earth's frail immortality!
Bright tints, fair forms, which time defy;
Imparting all that these can give
Of earth's frail immortality!
A POSTSCRIPT IN 1845.
Such wert thou, as I saw thee last,
When “silent loneliness” was thine;
But now a change has o'er thee past,
And renovated glories shine.
When “silent loneliness” was thine;
But now a change has o'er thee past,
And renovated glories shine.
I wish the story may be true,
And that thou mayst new charms have won
In other eyes—though in my view
Thy beauty may be half undone.
And that thou mayst new charms have won
In other eyes—though in my view
Thy beauty may be half undone.
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