Page:The Excursion, Wordsworth, 1814.djvu/387

361 That inward motion to disguise, he said

To his Compatriot, smiling as he spake;

—"The peaceable Remains of this good Knight

Would be disturbed, I fear, with wrathful scorn,

If consciousness could reach him where he lies

That One, albeit of these degenerate times,

Deploring changes past, or dreading change

Foreseen, had dared to couple, even in thought,

The fine Vocation of the sword and lance

With the gross aims and body-bending toil

Of a poor Brotherhood who walk the earth

Pitied, and where they are not known, despised.

—Yet, by the good Knight's leave, the two Estates

Are graced with some resemblance. Errant Those,

Exiles and Wanderers—and the like are These;

Who, with their burthen, traverse hill and dale,

Carrying relief for Nature's simple wants.

—What though no higher recompence they seek

Than honest maintenance, by irksome toil

Full oft procured! Yet Such may claim respect,

Among the Intelligent, for what this course

Enables them to be, and to perform.

Their tardy steps give leisure to observe;