| Francis T. Palgrave, ed. (1824–1897). The Golden Treasury. 1875. |
| |
| W. Wordsworth |
| |
CCXLVII. Composed at Neidpath Castle,
the Property of Lord Queensberry, 1803 |
| |
| DEGENERATE Douglas! O the unworthy lord! | |
| Whom mere despite of heart could so far please | |
| And love of havoc (for with such disease | |
| Fame taxes him) that he could send forth word | |
| To level with the dust a noble horde, | 5 |
| A brotherhood of venerable trees, | |
| Leaving an ancient dome, and towers like these, | |
| Beggar'd and outraged!—Many hearts deplored | |
| The fate of those old trees; and oft with pain | |
| The traveller at this day will stop and gaze | 10 |
| On wrongs, which Nature scarcely seems to heed: | |
| For shelter'd places, bosoms, nooks, and bays, | |
| And the pure mountains, and the gentle Tweed, | |
| And the green silent pastures, yet remain. | |
| |
|
|
