81
THE BUILDING OF THE MANSION.
They said the earl would build a splendid house
That in the country round for many a mile
Would stand unrivalled, and the work began,
But oh! not beautiful the work appeared.
Soon was that spot of normal quiet stirred
To strange commotion and unloveliness;
Huge piles of dull material lay about
In wild disorder, and the well-kept lawn
Was cut with marring wheel-marks far around.
There rose the clang of heavy iron tools,
And ugly laden trucks lumbered about
With noisy rumble; and a black engine puffed,
And hissed, and groaned, and shrieked, and steamed, and smoked.
No sign was there of shelter or repose,
Save here a temporary shed, and there
A wooden hut,—no things of beauty they.
A lofty scaffolding was soon upreared,
Then came the spoiling of the well-known hall,
That had to us of such great import seemed;
The roof was ruthlessly torn off, the walls
Dismantled, and the crescent portico
Thrown ignominiously upon the ground.
That in the country round for many a mile
Would stand unrivalled, and the work began,
But oh! not beautiful the work appeared.
Soon was that spot of normal quiet stirred
To strange commotion and unloveliness;
Huge piles of dull material lay about
In wild disorder, and the well-kept lawn
Was cut with marring wheel-marks far around.
There rose the clang of heavy iron tools,
And ugly laden trucks lumbered about
With noisy rumble; and a black engine puffed,
And hissed, and groaned, and shrieked, and steamed, and smoked.
No sign was there of shelter or repose,
Save here a temporary shed, and there
A wooden hut,—no things of beauty they.
A lofty scaffolding was soon upreared,
Then came the spoiling of the well-known hall,
That had to us of such great import seemed;
The roof was ruthlessly torn off, the walls
Dismantled, and the crescent portico
Thrown ignominiously upon the ground.
Oh, desecration! Oh, unheard contempt!
From time to time we visited that scene,
Haunted by happy memories, and looked
With ever-growing interest, though for long
We saw increased confusion, not a glimpse
Of destined grandeur; and the scaffolding,
Unsightly and unstable, shook with tread
Of hurrying feet, and here and there a part
Was shifted oft, and there was ceaseless change.
Sometimes we threaded the intricacies
That grew within, stepping with dubious feet
O'er parted beams, and tottering planks, and floors
From time to time we visited that scene,
Haunted by happy memories, and looked
With ever-growing interest, though for long
We saw increased confusion, not a glimpse
Of destined grandeur; and the scaffolding,
Unsightly and unstable, shook with tread
Of hurrying feet, and here and there a part
Was shifted oft, and there was ceaseless change.
Sometimes we threaded the intricacies
That grew within, stepping with dubious feet
O'er parted beams, and tottering planks, and floors
