As when, precariously superb,
He mounts with two-year-old activity
The great stone horse-block by the kerb
Time-worn to glacial declivity.
Then debonair and undebarred
By the old hound, its casual sentry,
He dallies in "The Old George" yard
And greets the jackdaw in the entry;
Retracted to the street, he gains
A sombre door no sunshine mellows,