The Cup of Quietness By Alfred Hayes |
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ON RECEIVING A PROSPECTUS OF THE SNOWDON SUMMIT RAILWAY AND HOTEL |
 | The Cup of Quietness |  |
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ON RECEIVING A PROSPECTUS OF THE SNOWDON SUMMIT RAILWAY AND HOTEL
Unthrone him; let the crowd's horse-laughter flout
Those solemn brows that commune with the sky;
Let nothing great preserve its privacy;
For, Snowdon once dishonoured, never doubt
Ben Nevis soon shall hear the rabble shout
Its last street-song, the vulgar hue and cry
Shall desecrate Helvellyn's sanctuary,
Scafell shall entertain a drunken rout.
Those solemn brows that commune with the sky;
Let nothing great preserve its privacy;
For, Snowdon once dishonoured, never doubt
Ben Nevis soon shall hear the rabble shout
Its last street-song, the vulgar hue and cry
Shall desecrate Helvellyn's sanctuary,
Scafell shall entertain a drunken rout.
No more its calm their high seclusion lends,
The fever of our restless life to heal;
A people with the mountains would be friends,
To whom their great reserve makes no appeal,
Whom height provokes and solitude offends—
A mob, that neither cares to climb or kneel.
The fever of our restless life to heal;
A people with the mountains would be friends,
To whom their great reserve makes no appeal,
Whom height provokes and solitude offends—
A mob, that neither cares to climb or kneel.
| The Cup of Quietness | |