Page:A lover's tale (Tennyson, 1879).djvu/73

Rh Toll'd quicker, and the breakers on the shore Sloped into louder surf: those that went with me, And those that held the bier before my face, Moved with one spirit round about the bay, Trod swifter steps; and while I walk'd with these In marvel at that gradual change, I thought Four bells instead of one began to ring, Four merry bells, four merry marriage-bells, In clanging cadence jangling peal on peal— A long loud clash of rapid marriage-bells. Then those who led the van, and those in rear, Rush'd into dance, and like wild Bacchanals Fled onward to the steeple in the woods: I, too, was borne along and felt the blast Beat on my heated eyelids: all at once The front rank made a sudden halt; the bells Lapsed into frightful stillness; the surge fell From thunder into whispers; those six maids