22.05.2007, 14:28
On the Road to Tunbridge
O Tunbridge, I approach thee with delight,
That hast from many streams thy lovely name,
Thy hop-gardens are blooming to the sight,
Thy orchards of rich growth are dear to fame:
Not in all Kent, in wealthy Kent, is found
A vale more beauteous to the farmer's eye,
Meads that with wheat and barley more abound,
Or a more growth of luscious grass supply:
Thy Castle on the silent Medway stands
And mournfully overlooks the laughing town,
But thy fair school, upbuilt by pious hands,
Demands the poet's lays and verdant crown:
There Virgil and great Homer well are taught,
Virtue well prized, and evil set at nought.
O Tunbridge, I approach thee with delight,
That hast from many streams thy lovely name,
Thy hop-gardens are blooming to the sight,
Thy orchards of rich growth are dear to fame:
Not in all Kent, in wealthy Kent, is found
A vale more beauteous to the farmer's eye,
Meads that with wheat and barley more abound,
Or a more growth of luscious grass supply:
Thy Castle on the silent Medway stands
And mournfully overlooks the laughing town,
But thy fair school, upbuilt by pious hands,
Demands the poet's lays and verdant crown:
There Virgil and great Homer well are taught,
Virtue well prized, and evil set at nought.