Page:Poems by William Wordsworth (1815) Volume 2.djvu/22

14 Before me begging did she stand,

Pouring out sorrows like a sea;

Grief after grief:—on English Land

Such woes I knew could never be;

And yet a boon I gave her; for the Creature

Was beautiful to see; "a Weed of glorious feature!"

I left her, and pursued my way;

And soon before me did espy

A pair of little Boys at play,

Chasing a crimson butterfly;

The Taller followed with his hat in hand,

Wreathed round with yellow flow'rs, the gayest of the land.

The Other wore a rimless crown,

With leaves of laurel stuck about:

And they both followed up and down,

Each whooping with a merry shout;

Two Brothers seemed they, eight and ten years old;

And like that Woman's face as gold is like to gold.