--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One Autumn night, in Sudbury town, Across…" description: "\"“One Autumn night, in Sudbury town, Across the meadows bare and brown, The windows of the wayside inn Gleamed red with fire-light through the leaves Of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-tal_ancient-hostelry_one-autumn-night-in-sudbury-town-across_1801848.jpg" --- # One Autumn night, in Sudbury town, Across the meadows bare… ![“One Autumn night, in Sudbury town, Across the meadows bare and brown, The windows of the wayside inn Gleamed red with fire-light through the leaves Of woodbine, hanging from the eaves Their crimson curtains rent and thin.” “As ancient is this hostelry As any in the land may be, Built in the old…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-tal_ancient-hostelry_one-autumn-night-in-sudbury-town-across_1801848.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-tal_ancient-hostelry_one-autumn-night-in-sudbury-town-across_1801848.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-tal_ancient-hostelry_one-autumn-night-in-sudbury-town-across_1801848.jpg) > ““One Autumn night, in Sudbury town, Across the meadows bare and brown, The windows of the wayside inn Gleamed red with fire-light through the leaves Of woodbine, hanging from the eaves Their crimson curtains rent and thin.” “As ancient is this hostelry As any in the land may be, Built in the old Colonial day, When men lived in a grander way, With ampler hospitality; A kind of old Hobgoblin Hall, Now somewhat fallen to decay, With weather-stains upon the wall, And stairways worn, and crazy doors, And creaking and uneven floors, And chimneys huge, and tiled and tall. A region of repose it seems, A place of slumber and of dreams, Remote among the wooded hills! For there no noisy railway speeds, Its torch-race scattering smoke and gleeds; But noon and night, the panting teams Stop under the great oaks, that throw Tangles of light and shade below, On roofs and doors and window-sills. Across the road the barns display Their lines of stalls, their mows of hay, Through the wide doors the breezes blow, The wattled cocks strut to and fro, And, half effaced by rain and shine, The Red Horse prances on the sign. Round this old-fashioned, quaint abode Deep silence reigned, save when a gust Went rushing down the county road, And skeletons of leaves, and dust, A moment quickened by its breath, Shuddered and danced their dance of death, And through the ancient oaks o'erhead Mysterious voices moaned and fled. These are the tales those merry guests Told to each other, well or ill; Like summer birds that lift their crests Above the borders of their nests And twitter, and again are still. These are the tales, or new or old, In idle moments idly told; Flowers of the field with petals thin, Lilies that neither toil nor spin, And tufts of wayside weeds and gorse Hung in the parlor of the inn Beneath the sign of the Red Horse. Uprose the sun; and every guest, Uprisen, was soon equipped and dressed For journeying home and city-ward; The old stage-coach was at the door, With horses harnessed, long before The sunshine reached the withered sward Beneath the oaks, whose branches hoar Murmured: "Farewell forevermore. Where are they now? What lands and skies Paint pictures in their friendly eyes? What hope deludes, what promise cheers, What pleasant voices fill their ears? Two are beyond the salt sea waves, And three already in their graves. Perchance the living still may look Into the pages of this book, And see the days of long ago Floating and fleeting to and fro, As in the well-remembered brook They saw the inverted landscape gleam, And their own faces like a dream Look up upon them from below.”” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A vivid description of an old inn, its decay and lingering stories, evoking nostalgia and the passage of time. **In simple terms:** An old inn is described with rich detail, showing its history and atmosphere. Key Takeaway Appreciate the layers of history in everyday places. Themes nostalgia place history decay storytelling Mood melancholic evocative Type poetic descriptive When to use this quote - travel - historical tourism - heritage preservation Key Concepts folk tradition temporal layers environmental description Questions to Reflect On - What stories might the inn’s walls have truly witnessed? - How does decay affect our perception of beauty? 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A region of repose it seems, A place of slumber and of dreams, Remote among the wooded hills! For there no noisy railway speeds, Its torch-race scattering smoke and gleeds; But noon and night, the panting teams Stop under the great oaks, that throw Tangles of light and shade below, On roofs and doors and window-sills. Across the road the barns display Their lines of stalls, their mows of hay, Through the wide doors the breezes blow, The wattled cocks strut to and fro, And, half effaced by rain and shine, The Red Horse prances on the sign. Round this old-fashioned, quaint abode Deep silence reigned, save when a gust Went rushing down the county road, And skeletons of leaves, and dust, A moment quickened by its breath, Shuddered and danced their dance of death, And through the ancient oaks o'erhead Mysterious voices moaned and fled. These are the tales those merry guests Told to each other, well or ill; Like summer birds that lift their crests Above the borders of their nests And twitter, and again are still. These are the tales, or new or old, In idle moments idly told; Flowers of the field with petals thin, Lilies that neither toil nor spin, And tufts of wayside weeds and gorse Hung in the parlor of the inn Beneath the sign of the Red Horse. Uprose the sun; and every guest, Uprisen, was soon equipped and dressed For journeying home and city-ward; The old stage-coach was at the door, With horses harnessed, long before The sunshine reached the withered sward Beneath the oaks, whose branches hoar Murmured: \"Farewell forevermore. Where are they now? What lands and skies Paint pictures in their friendly eyes? What hope deludes, what promise cheers, What pleasant voices fill their ears? Two are beyond the salt sea waves, And three already in their graves. Perchance the living still may look Into the pages of this book, And see the days of long ago Floating and fleeting to and fro, As in the well-remembered brook They saw the inverted landscape gleam, And their own faces like a dream Look up upon them from below.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-autumn-night-in-sudbury-town-across-the-meadows-bare-and-brown/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Autumn" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-autumn-night-in-sudbury-town-across-the-meadows-bare-and-brown/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-tal_ancient-hostelry_one-autumn-night-in-sudbury-town-across_1801848.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-tal_ancient-hostelry_one-autumn-night-in-sudbury-town-across_1801848.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-tal_ancient-hostelry_one-autumn-night-in-sudbury-town-across_1801848.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One Autumn night, in Sudbury town, Across the meadows bare and brown, The windows of the wayside inn Gleamed…” — Anonymous", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“One Autumn night, in Sudbury town,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-autumn-night-in-sudbury-town-across-the-meadows-bare-and-brown/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-autumn-night-in-sudbury-town-across-the-meadows-bare-and-brown/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```