Page:The Excursion, Wordsworth, 1814.djvu/343

317 Of that spare Benefice. Yet not the less

Their's was a hospitable board, and their's

A charitable door.—So days and years

Passed on;—the inside of that rugged House

Was trimmed and brightened by the Matron's care,

And gradually enriched with things of price,

Which might be lacked for use or ornament.

What, though no soft and costly sofa there

Insidiously stretched out its lazy length,

And no vain mirror glittered on the walls,

Yet were the windows of the low Abode

By shutters weather-fended, which at once

Repelled the storm and deadened its loud roar.

There, snow-white curtains hung in decent folds;

Tough moss, and long-enduring mountain-plants,

That creep along the ground with sinuous trail,

Were nicely braided, and composed a work

Like Indian mats, that with appropriate grace

Lay at the threshold and the inner doors.

And a fair carpet, woven of home-spun wool,

But tinctured daintily with florid hues,

For seemliness and warmth, on festive days,

Covered the smooth blue slabs of mountain stone