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Home  »  Poems of Places An Anthology in 31 Volumes  »  Verses on Blenheim

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
England: Vols. I–IV. 1876–79.

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Verses on Blenheim

By Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)

  • “A lion tearing a cock to pieces was placed in front of Blenheim House; a wretched pun in architecture, deservedly criticised in the Spectator.”—Scott.


  • SEE, here ’s the grand approach,

    That way is for his grace’s coach;

    There lies the bridge, and there the clock,

    Observe the lion and the cock;

    The spacious court, the colonnade,

    And mind how wide the hall is made;

    The chimneys are so well designed,

    They never smoke in any wind:

    The galleries contrived for walking,

    The windows to retire and talk in;

    The council-chamber to debate,

    And all the rest are rooms of state.

    “Thanks, sir,” cried I, “’t is very fine,

    But where d’ ye sleep, or where d’ ye dine?

    I find, by all you have been telling,

    That ’t is a house, but not a dwelling.”