Page:The Excursion, Wordsworth, 1814.djvu/54

28 Burn to the socket. Many a Passenger

Hath blessed poor Margaret for her gentle looks,

When she upheld the cool refreshment drawn

From that forsaken Spring; and no one came

But he was welcome; no one went away

But that it seemed she loved him. She is dead,

The light extinguished of her lonely Hut,

The Hut itself abandoned to decay,

And She forgotten in the quiet grave!

"I speak," continued he, "of One whose stock

Of virtues bloom'd beneath this lowly roof.

She was a Woman of a steady mind,

Tender and deep in her excess of love,

Not speaking much, pleased rather with the joy

Of her own thoughts: by some especial care

Her temper had been framed, as if to make

A Being—who by adding love to peace

Might live on earth a life of happiness.

Her wedded Partner lacked not on his side

The humble worth that satisfied her heart:

Frugal, affectionate, sober, and withal

Keenly industrious. She with pride would tell