Page:Lyrical ballads, Volume 1, Wordsworth, 1800.djvu/79

27 He had unlawful thoughts of many things:

And though he prayed, he never loved to pray

With holy men, nor in a holy place—

But yet his speech, it was so soft and sweet,

The late Lord Velez ne'er was wearied with him.

And once, as by the north side of the Chapel

They stood together, chained in deep discourse,

The earth heaved under them with such a groan,

That the wall tottered, and had well-nigh fallen

Right on their heads. My Lord was sorely frightened;

A fever seized him, and he made confession

Of all the heretical and lawless talk

Which brought this judgment: so the youth was seized

And cast into that cell. My husband's father

Sobbed like a child—it almost broke his heart:

And once as he was working in the cellar,

He heard a voice distinctly; 'twas the youth's

Who sang a doleful song about green fields,

How sweet it were on lake or wild savannah,

To hunt for food, and be a naked man,

And wander up and down at liberty.