And half of Hugh was half a life away,

A wandering spirit wistful of the past;

And half went drifting with the autumn blast

That mourned among the melancholy hills;

For something of the lethargy that kills

Came creeping close upon the ebb of hate.

Only the raw wind, like the lash of Fate,

Could have availed to move him any more.

At last the buzzard beak no longer tore

His vitals, and he ceased to think of food.