The Abbey Was Built Seven Hundred Years Ago; And The
Ruins That Are Now Standing Look As If They Might Stand Many
Centuries Longer.
The owner of the place has made all smooth and
nice around it, so that you may imagine the floor of the church to
look like green velvet.
It seems as if the ivy and the flowers were
caressing and supporting the abbey in its beautiful old age.
As I walked under the arches and upon the soft green turf, that so
many years ago had been a cold rough stone pavement, trodden by
beings like myself; and felt the flowers and vines hanging from the
mouldering capitals touch my face; and saw, in the place where was
once a confessional, an oak tree that had taken centuries to grow,
and whose top branches mingled with the smiling crest of flowers
that crowned the tops of the highest arches, - the thought of the
littleness and the greatness of man, and the everlasting beauty of
the works of the Creator, almost overwhelmed me; and I felt that,
after all, I was not in a decaying, ruined temple, but in an
everlasting church, that would grow green and more beautiful and
perfect as time passes on.
There is a fine old park around these lovely ruins; and, not far
off, a beautiful stream of water, with a curious bridge over it. The
old monks well knew how to choose beautiful places to live in. All
harmonizes, except - I grieve to tell of it - a shocking modern house,
very near, very ugly, and, I suppose, ridiculously elegant and
comfortable inside.
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