IN the crypt at the foot of the stairs They lay there, a score of the Dead: They could hear the priest at his prayers, And the litany overhead. They knew when the great crowd stirred As the Host was lifted on high; And they smiled in the dark when they heard Some light-footed nun trip by. Side by side on their shelves For years and years they lay; And those who misbehaved themselves Had their coffin-plates taken away. Thus is the legend told In black-letter monkish rhyme, Explaining those plaques of gold That vanished from time to time! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE MAIMED DEBAUCHEE by JOHN WILMOT SONNET: HENRY HOWARD BROWNELL by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH A THRESHER OF WHEAT TO THE WYNDES by JOACHIM DU BELLAY AGNOSTIC TO MYSTIC by WILLIAM ROSE BENET SONNETS FROM THE PORTUGUESE: 19 by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING THE TITANIC by SAMUEL VALENTINE COLE |