And, not in vain embodied to the sight,
Religion finds even in the stern retreat
Of feudal sway her own appropriate seat;
From the collegiate pomps on Windsor's height
Down to the humbleraltar, which the Knight
And his Retainers of the embattled hall
Seek in domestic oratory small,
For prayer in stillness, or the chanted rite;
Then chiefly dear, when foes are planted round,
Who teach the intrepid guardians of the place —
Hourly exposed to death, with famine worn,
And suffering under many a perilous wound —
How sad would be their durance, if forlorn
Of offices dispensing heavenly grace!