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THE SLEEPING SISTERS.
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THE SLEEPING SISTERS,

IN THE LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL.


Hush! hush! tread lightly, 't were not meet
    So sweet a dream to break,
Or from that tender, clasping hand
    The snowdrop's leaflet shake,

Or drive away the angel smile,
    That lights each gentle face,
For waking life would surely fail
    To shed so pure a grace.

Hear'st thou their breathing, as they sleep
    On pillow lightly prest?
Is aught on earth so calm and deep
    As childhood's balmy rest?

A quiet couch those sisters find
    Within these hallowed walls,
Where shaded light through storied pane
    In solemn tinture falls,