Page:The Excursion, Wordsworth, 1814.djvu/412

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386

Be likened? She whose countenance and air
Unite the graceful qualities of both,
Even as she shares the pride and joy of both.


My grey-haired Friend was moved; his vivid eye
Glistened with tenderness; his Mind, I knew,
Was full; and had, I doubted not, returned,
Upon this impulse, to the theme—erewhile
Abruptly broken-off. The ruddy Boys
Did now withdraw to take their well-earned meal;
And he—(to whom all tongues resigned their rights
With willingness, to whom the general ear
Listened with readier patience than to strain
Of music, lute or harp,—a long delight
That ceased not when his voice had ceased) as One
Who from truth's central point serenely views
The compass of his argument,—began
Mildly, and with a clear and steady tone.



END OF THE EIGHTH BOOK.