As we, that ere the worst her hero haps,
Of Angels guided, nigh that loathly den:
A toady cave beside an ague fen,
Where long forlorn the lone dog whines and yaps.
XVIII
By daylight now the forest fear could read
Itself, and at new wonders chuckling went.
Straight for the roebuck’s neck the bowman spent
A dart that laughed at distance and at speed.
XIX
Right loud the bugle’s hallali elate
Rang forth of merry dingles round the tors;
And deftest hand was he from foreign wars,
But soon he hailed the home-bred yeoman mate.
XX
Before the blackbird pecked the turf they woke;
At dawn the deer’s wet nostrils blew their last.
To forest, haunt of runs and prime repast,
With paying blows, the yokel strained his yoke.
XXI
The city urchin mooned on forest air,
On grassy sweeps and flying arrows, thick
As swallows o’er smooth streams, and sighed him sick
For thinking that his dearer home was there.