The Hound of Heaven

I was in work early today as the traffic was pretty clear.  Had a quick wander to get my lunch and came across this plaque nestled in between two shop fronts.  

Wikipedia tells me:

As a young man Francis Thompson was described as shy, untidy, unpunctual and unobservant.  When he went to study for the priesthood he excelled at English, Greek and Latin and his interest in poetry grew and his writings were noted as ‘very good for a lad of his age’ by his English Master.

At the age of eighteen Francis had failed in his studies to enter the priesthood and enrolled at the Manchester Royal Infirmary, spending six years studying anatomy to be a surgeon. 

Around 1879 he became ill with a lung infection and was prescribed Laudanum, a combination of Opium and Ethanol for the pain.  Having failed his medical exams for the third time, Francis headed to London to pursue a literary career but this proved more difficult than he had thought and he was reduced to living on the streets as a vagrant and struggling with his drug addiction.

He died at the age of 47 from a fatal infection of Tuberculosis which left him weighing just five stone; this was at a time when he had reached the height of his reputation as a poet.

His most famous poem, ‘The Hound of Heaven’, went on to sell over 50,000 copies and he apparently had an impact on writers such as J.R.R. Tolkien and Robert Browning.

Quote for today, from the plaque of Francis Thompson:
Ever and anon a trumpet sounds from the hid battlements of Eternity.