Page:Wessex poems and other verses (IA wessexpoemsother00hard).pdf/77

 "I'll take you to the doorway in the wall, And then adieu," I to them. "Friends, withdraw." They did so; and she went—beyond recall.

And as I paused beneath the arch I saw Their moonlit figures—slow, as in surprise— Descend the slope, and vanish on the haw.

"'Fool,' some will say," I thought. "But who is wise, Save God alone, to weigh my reasons why?" —"Hast thou struck home?" came with the boughs' night-sighs.

It was my friend. “I have struck well. They fly, But carry wounds that none can cicatrize." —"Not mortal?" said he. "Lingering—worse," said I.