Towards democracy

A Village Church 440

Or the old man at midnight, with a propitiatory offering, } to the shrine of Proserpine:]

So, all these centuries and round the village church,

A like romance has gathered.

And presently an alien folk will come, with alien thoughts sand customs;

And this little shrine half-buried in the ground, with its 9 candles and incense and stuffy dingy interior,

And its three Gods sitting up aloft, and its doubtful g glances at Mary,

Will seem as far back and strange as anything Greek or i Egyptian.

Thus as I dreamed, wandering away in thought through ithe long long past and future,

The service ended, and in the last glow of sunset

Out came a crowd of gaily-colored girls in silks and amuslin, and village youths, and a top-hat squire or two—all amodern as modern—

And knowing or recking nothing of Chrysostom and [Basil :

Into the sweet evening air and dusk they came, with acheerful babble,

Discussing the local fashions or last event in politics ,

When sudden a yell rang out in the sky, like the yell of £4 monstrous cat,

And with a great rush of wings, and to a chorus of gexclamations,