Which says that they who take the sword shall perish by the sword.
It was a chilly morning when, foreboding naught of harm,
I crossed the river in my skiff, and sought the Scudder farm:
About the hour when Ruth would have her household work all through,
And ready be to take a walk, the scene around to view.
The trees were leafless, and the ground was covered half with snow;
But what is that to human hearts with youth and love aglow!
We wandered up and down the road like children, hand in hand,
And talked about the future, and the life before us planned;
But while we spake the sound of hoofs upon the ground we heard—