The poetical works of John Nicholson ... Carefully edited from the original editions, with additional notes and a sketch of his life and writings. By W. G. Hird |
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 | The poetical works of John Nicholson |  |
How chang'd is Kirkstall, since to ruin turned,
And slow departing the last abbot mourned;
When ancient records, kept with pious care,
Clung to the boughs which overhung the Aire,
Or, tossed in flames, or into pieces torn,
Like autumn leaves upon the winds were borne;
Its income gone, and lost its fruitful land,
Which was bequeathed by many a dying hand;
The granges ruined, and the cattle sold,
The sheep removed to a far distant fold;
All that was good and precious swept away,
And seiz'd by desolation as its prey!
Of all its wealth the once famed place bereft,
And but the walls were to the artist left,
While many a pensive stranger, passing by,
Stops to admire, then leaves them with a sigh!
And slow departing the last abbot mourned;
When ancient records, kept with pious care,
Clung to the boughs which overhung the Aire,
Or, tossed in flames, or into pieces torn,
Like autumn leaves upon the winds were borne;
Its income gone, and lost its fruitful land,
Which was bequeathed by many a dying hand;
The granges ruined, and the cattle sold,
The sheep removed to a far distant fold;
All that was good and precious swept away,
And seiz'd by desolation as its prey!
Of all its wealth the once famed place bereft,
And but the walls were to the artist left,
While many a pensive stranger, passing by,
Stops to admire, then leaves them with a sigh!
| The poetical works of John Nicholson | |