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The Belfry of Hallein
The Belfry of Hallein rings hourly,
Its sound makes quiver marrow and the ear,
Each quarter-hour stroke speaks loud to me,
And tells of passing fleeting time so clear.
Bright gorgeous summer flowers in full bloom,
beneath my window breathe and wreak their spell,
Intoxicating scent pervades my room
That love prepared for visitors to dwell.
The rushing brook below holds mysteries,
It lisps and murmurs of the things once were,
It stirs with gentleness sweet memories,
And brings to mind events without compare!.
Three times full twenty-six strokes ring this chime,
On every morn at six, throughout the year
That echo ‘long the broad stretched chains alpine
And mansion of my brother Karli dear..
Oh!- I could weep, and shed some furtive tear
For all the many that are dispossessed,
Deprived, debarred these wondrous chimes to hear,
It seems to me they miss of life the best.
This ringing, echoing through the chains alpine,
That swift returns alike a boomerang,
Does lift the mind on high to things divine
With their persistent, faithful hourly clang.
Count seventy eight chime strokes,- distinctly heard,
Come!- count them with the fingers per diem,
As they ring out to glorify the Lord;
Stroke Seventy-Eight - the last- counts for AMEN !
© Elizabeth Dandy
