When every bodily sense is as it slept,
And the mind alone is wakeful. I have heard 469
Strange voices in the evening wind; strange forms
Dimly discover'd throng'd the twilight air.
The neighbours wonder'd at the sudden change,
They call’d me crazed ; and my dear Uncle too,
Would sit and gaze upon me wistfully,
A heaviness upon his aged brow,

475 And in his

eye
such sorrow,

that
my

heart Sometimes misgave me.

I had told him all The mighty future labouring in my breast, But that the hour, methought, not yet was come.

“ At length I heard of Orleans, by the foe 480 Wall'd in from human help: thither all thoughts All hopes were turn'd; that bulwark beaten down, All were the invaders. Then my troubled soul Grew more disturb’d, and shunning every eye, I loved to wander where the woodland shade 485 Was deepest, there on mightiest deeds to brood Of shadowy vastness, such as made my heart Throb loud : anon I paused, and in a state Of half expectance, listen’d to the wind.

490

“ There is a fountain in the forest call'd
The Fountain of the Fairies : when a child
With a delightful wonder I have heard
Tales of the Elfin tribe who on its banks
Hold midnight revelry. An ancient oak,
The goodliest of the forest, grows beside ;
Alone it stands, upon a green grass plat,
By the woods bounded like some little isle.

495

VOL I.

It ever hath been deem'd their favourite tree,
They love to lie and rock upon its leaves, 499
And bask in moonshine. Here the Woodmán leads
His boy, and shewing him the green-sward mark'd
With darker circlets, says their midnight dance
Hath traced the rings, and bids him spare the tree.
Fancy had cast a spell upon the place
Which made it holy; and the villagers

505 Would

say

that never evil thing approach'd Unpunish'd there. The strange and fearful pleasure Which fill'd me by that solitary spring, Ceased not in riper years; and now it woke Deeper delight, and more mysterious awe. 510

“A blessed spot! Oh how my soul enjoy'd
Its holy quietness, with what delight
Escaping from mankind I hasten'd there
To solitude and freedom! Thitherward
On a spring eve I had betaken me,

515
And there I sat, and mark'd the deep red clouds
Gather before the wind .. the rising wind,
Whose sudden gusts, each wilder than the last,
Appear’d to rock my senses. Soon the night
Darken'd around, and the large rain-drops fell 520
Heavy; anon tempestuously the gale
Swept o'er the wood. Methought the thunder-shower
Fell with refreshing coolness on my head,
And the hoarse dash of waters, and the rush
Of winds that mingled with the forest roar, 525
Made a wild music. On a rock I sat,
The glory of the tempest

fill'd

my And when the thunders peal'd, and the long flash

soul;

Hung durable in heaven, and on my sight

529 Spread the grey forest, memory, thought, were gone, All sense of self annihilate, I seem'd Diffused into the scene.

“ At length a light Approach'd the spring ; I saw my Uncle Claude ; His grey locks dripping with the midnight storm, He came, and caught me in his arms, and cried My God! my child is safe !

“ I felt his words Pierce in my heart; my soul was overcharged; I fell upon his neck and told him all ;

538 God was within me, as I felt, I spake, And he believed.

“ Aye, Chieftain ) and the world Shall soon believe my mission; for the LORD Will raise up indignation and pour on't His wrath, and they shall perish who oppress."

AND now beneath the horizon westering slow
Had sunk the orb of day: o'er all the vale
A purple softness spread, save where some tree
Its lengthen'd shadow stretch'd, or winding stream
Mirror'd the light of Heaven, still traced distinct 5
When twilight dimly shrouded all beside.
A grateful coolness freshen'd the calm air,
And the hoarse grasshoppers their evening song
Sung shrill and ceaseless, as the dews of night
Descended. On their way the travellers wend, 10
Cheering the road with converse, till at length
They mark a cottage lamp whose steady light
Shone through the lattice ; thitherward they turn.
There came an old man forth ; his thin

grey

locks Moved to the breeze and on his wither'd face The characters of age were written deep. 16 Them, louting low with rustic courtesy, He welcomed in; on the white-ember'd hearth Heapt up fresh fuel, then with friendly care Spread out his homely board, and fill'd the bowl 20 With the red produce of the vine that arch'd

His evening seat; they of the plain repast
Partook, and quaff'd the pure and pleasant draught.

“ Strangers, your fare is homely,” said their Host, “ But such it is as we poor countrymen

25 Earn with our toil: in faith ye are welcome to it! I too have borne a lance in younger days; And would that I were young again to meet These haughty English in the field of fight; Such as I was when on the fatal plain

30 Of Agincourt I met them.

" Wert thou then A sharer in that dreadful day's defeat ?” Exclaim'd the Bastard : “ Didst thou know the Lord Of Orleans ?”

« Know him ?” cried the veteran, “ I saw him ere the bloody fight began

35 Riding from rank to rank, his beaver up, The long lance quivering in his mighty grasp. His eye was wrathful to an enemy, But for his countrymen it had a smile

39 Would win all hearts. Looking at thee, Sir Knight, Methinks I see him now; such was his eye, Gentle in peace, and such his manly brow.”

“ No tongue but speaketh honour of that name!"
Exclaim'd Dunois. “Strangers and countrymen
Alike revered the good and gallant Chief. 45
His vassals like a father loved their Lord ;
His gates stood open to the traveller ;
The pilgrim when he saw his towers rejoiced,