d come,
Unseen by Leonard, at the church-yard gate
Stopped short,--and thence, at leisure, limb by limb
Perused him [17] with a gay complacency. 105
Ay, thought the Vicar, smiling to himself,
'Tis one of those who needs must leave the path
Of the world's business to go wild alone:
His arms have a perpetual holiday;
The happy man will creep about the fields, 110
Following his fancies by the hour, to bring
Tears down his cheek, [18] or solitary smiles
Into his face, until the setting sun
Write fool upon his forehead.--Planted thus
Beneath a shed that over-arched the gate 120
Of this rude church-yard, till the stars appeared
The good Man might have communed with himself,
But that the Stranger, who had left the grave,
Approached; he recognised the Priest at once,
And, after greetings interchanged, and given 120
By Leonard to the Vicar as to one
Unknown to him, this dialogue ensued.

_Leonard_. You live, Sir, in these dales, a quiet life:
Your years make up one peaceful family;
And who would grieve and fret, if, welcome come 125
And welcome gone, they are so like each other,
They cannot be remembered? Scarce a funeral
Comes to this church-yard once in eighteen months;
And yet, some changes must take place among you:
And you, who dwell here, even among these rocks, 130
Can trace the finger of mortality,
And see, that with our threescore years and ten
We are not all that perish.--I remember,
(For many years ago I passed this road)
There was a foot-way all along the fields 135
By the brook-side--'tis gone--and that dark cleft!
To me it does not seem to wear the face
Which then it had!

_Priest_. Nay, Sir, [19] for aught I know,
That chasm is much the same--140

_Leonard_. But, surely, yonder--

_Priest_. Ay, there, indeed, your memory is a friend
That does not play you false.--On that tall pike
(It is the loneliest place of all these hills)
There were two springs which bubbled side by side, [D] 145
As if they had been made that they might be
Companions for each other: the huge crag
Was rent with lightning--one hath disappeared; [20]
The other, left behind, is flowing still,
For accidents and changes such as these, 150
We want not store of them; [21]--a water-spout