Page:The white doe of Rylstone - or, The fate of the Nortons. A poem (IA whitedoeofrylsto00wordrich).pdf/27

 The presence of this wandering Doe Fills many a damp obscure recess With lustre of a saintly show; And, re-appearing, she no less To the open day gives blessedness. But say, among these holy places, Which thus assiduously she paces, Comes she with a votary’s task, Rite to perform, or boon to ask? Fair Pilgrim! harbours she a sense Of sorrow, or of reverence? Can she be grieved for quire or shrine, Crushed as if by wrath divine? For what survives of house where God Was worshipped, or where Man abode; For old magnificence undone; Or for the gentler work begun By Nature, softening and concealing, And busy with a hand of healing,—