Page:Peter Bell (Wordsworth).djvu/65

Part II. And hither is he come at last,

When he through such a day has gone,

By this dark cave to be distrest

Like a poor bird—her plunder'd nest

Hovering around with dolorous moan!

Of that intense and piercing cry

The listening Ass doth rightly spell;

Wild as it is he there can read

Some intermingl'd notes that plead

With touches irresistible;

But Peter, when he saw the Ass

Not only stop but turn, and change

The cherish'd tenor of his pace

That lamentable noise to chase,

It wrought in him conviction strange;