| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895. |
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| The Deserted House |
| | | Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron (1809–92) |
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| LIFE and Thought have gone away | |
| Side by side, | |
| Leaving door and windows wide: | |
| Careless tenants they! | |
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| All within is dark as night: | 5 |
| In the windows is no light; | |
| And no murmur at the door, | |
| So frequent on its hinge before. | |
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| Close the door, the shutters close, | |
| Or thro’ the windows we shall see | 10 |
| The nakedness and vacancy | |
| Of the dark deserted house. | |
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| Come away: no more of mirth | |
| Is here or merry-making sound. | |
| The house was builded of the earth, | 15 |
| And shall fall again to ground. | |
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| Come away: for Life and Thought | |
| Here no longer dwell; | |
| But in a city glorious— | |
| A great and distant city—have bought | 20 |
| A mansion incorruptible. | |
| Would they could have stay’d with us! | |
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