Page:The Excursion, Wordsworth, 1814.djvu/402

376 For the convenience of unlawful gain,

In forest purlieus; and the like are bred,

All England through, where nooks and slips of ground,

Purloined in times less jealous than our own,

From the green margin of the public way,

A residence afford them, mid the bloom

And gaiety of cultivated fields.

—Such (we will hope the lowest in the scale)

Do I remember oft-times to have seen

'Mid Buxton's dreary heights. Upon the watch,

Till the swift vehicle approach, they stand;

Then, following closely with the cloud of dust,

An uncouth feat exhibit, and are gone

Heels over head like Tumblers on a Stage.

—Up from the ground they snatch the copper coin,

And, on the freight of merry Passengers

Fixing a steady eye, maintain their speed;

And spin—and pant—and overhead again,

Wild Pursuivants! until their breath is lost,

Or bounty tires,—and every face, that smiled

Encouragement, hath ceased to look that way.

—But, like the Vagrants of the Gypsy tribe,

These, bred to little pleasure in themselves,