Page:Peter Bell (Wordsworth).djvu/91

Part III. What could he do?—The Woman lay

Breathless and motionless;—the mind

Of Peter sadly was confus'd;

But, though to such demands unus'd,

And helpless almost as the blind,

He rais'd her up; and, while he held

Her body propp'd against his knee,

The Woman wak'd—and when she spied

The poor Ass standing by her side,

She moaned most bitterly.

"Oh! God be prais'd!—my heart's at ease—

"For he is dead—I know it well!"

—At this she wept a bitter flood;

And, in the best way that he could,

His tale did Peter tell.