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THE SLEEPING SISTERS.
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THE SLEEPING SISTERS,
IN THE LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL.
Hush! hush! tread lightly, 't were not meet
So sweet a dream to break,
Or from that tender, clasping hand
The snowdrop's leaflet shake,
Or drive away the angel smile,
That lights each gentle face,
For waking life would surely fail
To shed so pure a grace.
Hear'st thou their breathing, as they sleep
On pillow lightly prest?
Is aught on earth so calm and deep
As childhood's balmy rest?
A quiet couch those sisters find
Within these hallowed walls,
Where shaded light through storied pane
In solemn tinture falls,