Page:Poems by William Wordsworth (1815) Volume 1.djvu/167

107 .

Then James still is left among you?

.

'Tis of the elder Brother I am speaking:

They had an Uncle;—he was at that time

A thriving man, and trafficked on the seas:

And, but for that same Uncle, to this hour

Leonard had never handled rope or shroud.

For the Boy loved the life which we lead here;

And, though of unripe years, a stripling only,

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,

Resolved 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,