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1770–1850

COMPOSED IN ROSLIN CHAPEL, DURING A STORM

William Wordsworth

The wind is now thy organist;— a clank ( We know not whence ) ministers for a bell To mark some change of service. As the swell Of music reached its height, and even when sank

The notes, in prelude, ROSLIN! to a blank Of silence, how it thrilled thy sumptuous roof, Pillars, and arches,— not in vain time-proof, Though Christian rites be wanting! From what bank

Came those live herbs? by what hand were they sown Where dew falls not, where rain-drops seem unknown? Yet in the Temple they a friendly niche Share with their sculptured fellows, that, green-grown,

Copy their beauty more and more, and preach, Though mute, of all things blending into one.

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COMPOSED IN ROSLIN CHAPEL, DURING A STORM · William Wordsworth · Poetry Cove