ody" would no longer down,
'Twas "Madam," in her grogram gown.
Philemon was in great surprise,
And hardly could believe his eyes.
Amaz'd to see her look so prim,
And she admir'd as much at him.
Thus happy in their change of life,
Were several years this man and wife:
When on a day, which prov'd their last,
Discoursing o'er old stories past,
They went by chance, amidst their talk,
To the churchyard, to take a walk;
When Baucis hastily cry'd out,
"My dear, I see your forehead sprout!"--
"Sprout;" quoth the man; "what's this you tell us?
I hope you don't believe me jealous!
But yet, methinks, I feel it true,
And really yours is budding too--
Nay,--now I cannot stir my foot;
It feels as if 'twere taking root."
Description would but tire my Muse,
In short, they both were turn'd to yews.
Old Goodman Dobson of the Green
Remembers he the trees has seen;
He'll talk of them from noon till night,
And goes with folk to show the sight;
On Sundays, after evening prayer,
He gathers all the parish there;
Points out the place of either yew,
Here Baucis, there Philemon, grew:
Till once a parson of our town,
To mend his barn, cut Baucis down;
At which, 'tis hard to be believ'd
How much the other tree was griev'd,
Grew scrubby, dy'd a-top, was stunted,
So the next parson stubb'd and burnt it.

[Footnote 1: I here give the original version of this poem, which Forster
found in Swift's handwriting at Narford; and which has never been
published. It is well known that, at Addison's suggestion, Swift made
extensive changes in this, "one of the happiest of his poems," concerning
which Forster says, in his "Life of Swift," at p. 165: "The poem, as
printed, contains one hundred and seventy-eight lines; the poem, as I
found it at Narford, has two hundred and thirty; and the changes in the
latter bringing it into the condition of the former, by which only it has
been thus far known, comprise the omission of ninety-six lines, the
addition of forty-four, and the alteration of twenty-two. The question
can now be discussed whether or not the changes were improvements, and,
in my opinion, the decision must be adverse to Addison."--_W. E. B_.]

[Footnote 2: The "village hard by Rixham" of the original has as little
connection with "Chilthorne" as the "village down in Kent" of the altered
version, and Swift had probably no better reason than his rhyme for
either.--_Forster_.]

[Footnote 3: See the next poem for note on this line. C