MEMORIALS OF A TOUR ON THE CONTINENT, 1820
II. BRUGES
MEMORIALS OF A TOUR ON THE CONTINENT, 1820
BRUGES I saw attired with golden light (Streamed from the west) as with a robe of power: The splendour fled; and now the sunless hour, That, slowly making way for peaceful night, Best suits with fallen grandeur, to my sight Offers the beauty, the magnificence, And sober graces, left her for defence Against the injuries of time, the spite Of fortune, and the desolating storms Of future war. Advance not–spare to hide, 10 O gentle Power of darkness! these mild hues; Obscure not yet these silent avenues Of stateliest architecture, where the Forms Of nun-like females, with soft motion, glide!