The Monument
William Wordsworth
Commonly called Long Meg and her daughters, near the River Eden.
A weight of awe, not easy to be borne,
Fell suddenly upon my spirit,—cast
From the dread bosom of the unknown past,
When first I saw that family forlorn.
Speak thou, whose massy strength and stature scorn
The power of years,—pre-eminent, and placed
Apart, to overlook the circle vast,—
Speak, giant-mother! tell it to the Morn
While she dispels the cumbrous shades of night;
Let the Moon hear, emerging from a cloud;
At whose behest uprose on British ground
That sisterhood, in hieroglyphic round
Forth-shadowing, some have deemed, the infinite,
The inviolable God, that tames the proud!
Long Meg and Her Daughters is the traditional name for an ancient stone circle close to the River Eden. It is the largest stone circle in the North of England with more than 50 stones.
Long Meg is a huge sandstone monolith slightly separated from the circle of "her daughters". The circle dates from the Bronze Age.
