The hardships of that season: many rich
Sank down, as in a dream, among the poor;
And of the poor did many cease to be,
And their place knew them not. Meanwhile,
abridged
Of daily comforts, gladly reconciled
To numerous self-denials, Margaret
Went struggling on through those calamitous
With cheerful hope, until the second autumn, 550
When her life's Helpmate on a sick-bed lay,
Smitten with perilous fever. In disease
He lingered long; and, when his strength
returned,
He found the little he had stored, to meet
The hour of accident or crippling age,
Was all consumed. A second infant now
Was added to the troubles of a time
Laden, for them and all of their degree,
With care and sorrow: shoals of artisans
From ill-requited labour turned adrift
Sought daily bread from public charity,
They, and their wives and children-happier far
Could they have lived as do the little birds
That peck along the hedge-rows, or the kite
That makes her dwelling on the mountain rocks
'A sad reverse it was for him who long 566 Had filled with plenty, and possessed in peace, This lonely Cottage. At the door he stood, And whistled many a snatch of merry tunes That had no mirth in them; or with his knife 570 Carved uncouth figures on the heads of sticks—Then, not less idly, sought, through every nook In house or garden, any casual work
Of use or ornament; and with a strange,
Amusing, yet uneasy, novelty,
He mingled, where he might, the various tasks
Of summer, autumn, winter, and of spring.
But this endured not; his good humour soon
Became a weight in which no pleasure was:
And poverty brought on a petted mood
And a sore temper: day by day he drooped,
And he would leave his work--and to the town
Would turn without an errand his slack steps;
Or wander here and there among the fields.
One while he would speak lightly of his babes, 585
And with a cruel tongue: at other times
He tossed them with a false unnatural joy:
And 'twas a rueful thing to see the looks
Of the poor innocent children. Every smile,'
Said Margaret to me, here beneath these trees,
'Made my heart bleed.'
At this the Wanderer paused; And, looking up to those enormous elms, He said, “”Tis now the hour of deepest noon. At this still season of repose and peace, This hour when all things which are not at rest Are cheerful; while this multitude of flies 596 With tuneful hum is filling all the air; Why should a tear be on an old Man's cheek? Why should we thus, with an untoward mind, And in the weakness of humanity, From natural wisdom turn our hearts away; To natural comfort shut our eyes and ears; And, feeding on disquiet, thus disturb The calm of nature with our restless thoughts?"
He spake with somewhat of a solemn tone: 605
But, when he ended, there was in his face
Such easy cheerfulness, a look so mild,
That for a little time it stole away
All recollection; and that simple tale
Passed from my mind like a forgotten sound. 610
A while on trivial things we held discourse,
To me soon tasteless. In my own despite,
I thought of that poor Woman as of one
Whom I had known and loved. He had re-
hearsed
Her homely tale with such familiar power, 615
With such an active countenance, an eye
So busy, that the things of which he spake
Seemed present; and, attention now relaxed,
A heart-felt chillness crept along my veins.
I rose; and, having left the breezy shade, 620
Stood drinking comfort from the warmer sun,
That had not cheered me long-ere, looking
round
Upon that tranquil Ruin, I returned,
And begged of the old Man that, for my sake, He would resume his story.
He replied, 625 "It were a wantonness, and would demand Severe reproof, if we were men whose hearts Could hold vain dalliance with the misery Even of the dead; contented thence to draw A momentary pleasure, never marked By reason, barren of all future good. But we have known that there is often found In mournful thoughts, and always might be
A power to virtue friendly; wer't not so,
I am a dreamer among men, indeed
An idle dreamer! 'Tis a common tale,
An ordinary sorrow of man's life,
A tale of silent suffering, hardly clothed
In bodily form.-But without further bidding
I will proceed.
While thus it fared with them, 640
To whom this cottage, till those hapless years, Had been a blessed home, it was my chance To travel in a country far remote;
And when these lofty elms once more appeared What pleasant expectations lured me on 645 O'er the flat Common !-With quick step I
The threshold, lifted with light hand the latch;
But, when I entered, Margaret looked at me
A little while; then turned her head away
Speechless, and, sitting down upon a chair, 650
Wept bitterly. I wist not what to do,
Nor how to speak to her. Poor Wretch! at last
She rose from off her seat, and then,-O Sir!
I cannot tell how she pronounced my name:-
With fervent love, and with a face of grief 655
Unutterably helpless, and a look
That seemed to cling upon me, she enquired
If I had seen her husband. As she spake
A strange surprise and fear came to my heart,
Nor had I power to answer ere she told
That he had disappeared-not two months gone.
He left his house: two wretched days had past,
And on the third, as wistfully she raised
Her head from off her pillow, to look forth,
Like one in trouble, for returning light,
Within her chamber-casement she espied
A folded paper, lying as if placed
To meet her waking eyes. This tremblingly She opened-found no writing, but beheld Pieces of money carefully enclosed,
Silver and gold. 'I shuddered at the sight,' Said Margaret, for I knew it was his hand That must have placed it there; and ere that day
Was ended, that long anxious day, I learned, From one who by my husband had been sent 675
With the sad news, that he had joined a troop Of soldiers, going to a distant land.
-He left me thus he could not gather heart To take a farewell of me; for he feared
That I should follow with my babes, and sink 680 Beneath the misery of that wandering life.'
"This tale did Margaret tell with many tears:
And, when she ended, I had little power
To give her comfort, and was glad to take
Such words of hope from her own mouth as
served
685
To cheer us both. But long we had not talked
Ere we built up a pile of better thoughts,
And with a brighter eye she looked around
As if she had been shedding tears of joy.
We parted.-'Twas the time of early spring; 690
I left her busy with her garden tools;
And well remember, o'er that fence she looked,
And, while I paced along the foot-way path,
Called out, and sent a blessing after me,
With tender cheerfulness, and with a voice 695
That seemed the very sound of happy thoughts.
"I roved o'er many a hill and many a dale, With my accustomed load; in heat and cold, Through many a wood and many an open ground,
In sunshine and in shade, in wet and fair, 700
Drooping or blithe of heart, as might befall;
My best companions now the driving winds,
And now the 'trotting brooks' and whispering
trees,
And now the music of my own sad steps,
With many a short-lived thought that passed
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