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,

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[73] when these lofty elms once more appeared

What pleasant expectations lured me on