Page:Lyrical ballads, Volume 2, Wordsworth, 1800.djvu/102

94 Dan once had a heart which was mov'd by the wires

Of manifold pleasures and many desires:

And what if he cherish'd his purse? 'Twas no more

Than treading a path trod by thousands before.

'Twas a path trod by thousands, but Daniel is one

Who went something farther than others have gone;

And now with old Daniel you see how it fares

You see to what end he has brought his grey hairs.

The pair sally forth hand in hand; ere the sun

Has peer'd o'er the beeches their work is begun:

And yet into whatever sin they may fall,

This Child but half knows it and that not at all.

They hunt through the street with deliberate tread,

And each in his turn is both leader and led;

And wherever they carry their plots and their wiles,

Every face in the village is dimpled with smiles.