Skip to content
Linespedia

Lockswell.

By William Lisle Bowles

Topics: classic

Pure fount, that, welling from this wooded hill,      Dost wander forth, as into life's wide vale,      Thou to the traveller dost tell no tale      Of other years; a lone, unnoticed rill,      In thy forsaken track, unheard of men,      Melting thy own sweet music through the glen.     Time was when other sounds and songs arose;      When o'er the pensive scene, at evening's close,      The distant bell was heard; or the full chant,      At morn, came sounding high and jubilant;      Or, stealing on the wildered pilgrim's way,      The moonlight "Miserere" died away,      Like all things earthly.      Stranger, mark the spot;      No echoes of the chiding world intrude.      The structure rose and vanished; solitude      Possessed the woods again; old Time forgot,      Passing to wider spoil, its place and name.      Since then, even as the clouds of yesterday,      Seven hundred years have well-nigh passed away;      No wreck remains of all its early pride;      Like its own orisons, its fame has died.     But this pure fount, through rolling years the same,      Yet lifts its small still voice, like penitence,      Or lowly prayer. Then pass admonished hence,      Happy, thrice happy, if, through good or ill,      Christian, thy heart respond to this forsaken rill.

AI analysis available. Enable JavaScript to interact.

About this line

"Pure fount, that, welling from this wooded hill,..."

"Lockswell." is a quintessential example of William Lisle Bowles's signature style... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

Attribution & Rights

Author:William Lisle Bowles

"Pure fount, that, welling from this wooded hill,..." by William Lisle Bowles

For usage rights, copyright concerns, or to report an issue with this content, please visit our Copyright & Report page.

Related lines

"While slowly wanders thy sequestered stream,     WAINSBECK, the mossy-scattered rocks among,     In fancy's ear making a plaintive song     To"

"On these white cliffs, that calm above the flood     Uprear their shadowing heads, and at their feet     Hear not the surge that has for ages be"

"Christian! for none who scorns that holy name      Can gaze with honest eyes on Southey's fame;      Christian! bow down thy head in humble fea"

"The mighty master waved his wand, and, lo!      On the astonished eye the glorious show      Burst like a vision! Spirit of the place!      Ha"

"Here morning in the ploughman's songs is met     Ere yet one footstep shows in all the sky,     And twilight in the east, a doubt as yet,     S"

"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

William Lisle Bowles

About William Lisle Bowles

William Lisle Bowles is a distinguished poet whose works have shaped the landscape of English literature. Their poetry explores the depths of human emotion, nature, love, and philosophical thought through powerful and evocative verse. Readers continue to find solace, inspiration, and beauty in their timeless words.

Full Bibliography
Continue Reading

"While slowly wanders thy sequestered stream,     W..."

Weekly Poetic Insight

Join our literary Sanctuary

Get the most inspiring lines, poetic analysis, and secret shayaris delivered to your inbox every Sunday.