Page:Lyrical ballads, Volume 2, Wordsworth, 1800.djvu/44

36 They had an Uncle, he was at that time

A thriving man, and traffick'd on the seas:

And, but for this same Uncle, to this hour

Leonard had never handled rope or shroud.

For the Boy lov'd the life which we lead here;

And, though a very Stripling, twelve years old;

His soul was knit to this his native soil.

But, as I said, old Walter was too weak

To strive with such a torrent; when he died,

The estate and house were sold, and all their sheep,

A pretty flock, and which, for aught I know,

Had clothed the Ewbanks for a thousand years.

Well—all was gone, and they were destitute.

And Leonard, chiefly for his brother's sake,

Resolv'd to try his fortune on the seas.

'Tis now twelve years since we had tidings from him.

If there was one among us who had heard

That Leonard Ewbank was come home again,