Page:The Bab Ballads.djvu/197

Rh

For weeks he trod his self-made beats
 * Through Newport- Gerrard- Bear-

Greek- Rupert- Frith- Dean- Poland-streets
 * And into Golden-square.

But all, alas, in vain, for when
 * He tried to learn the way

Of little boys or grown-up men
 * They none of them would say.

Their eyes would flash—their teeth would grind—
 * Their lips would tightly curl—

They'd say, "Thy way thyself must find,
 * Thou misdirecting churl!"

And, similarly, also, when
 * He tried a foreign friend;

Italians answered, "Il balen"—
 * The French, "No comprehend."