When my old Leader slipped into the flood
And perished, what a piercing outcry you
Sent after him.
And perished, what a piercing outcry you
Sent after him.
William Wordsworth
HERBERT How good it was in you
To stay behind! --Hearing at first no answer,
I was alarmed.
MARMADUKE No wonder; this is a place
That well may put some fears into _your_ heart.
HERBERT Why so? a roofless rock had been a comfort,
Storm-beaten and bewildered as we were;
And in a night like this, to lend your cloaks
To make a bed for me! --My Girl will weep
When she is told of it.
MARMADUKE This Daughter of yours
Is very dear to you.
HERBERT Oh! but you are young;
Over your head twice twenty years must roll,
With all their natural weight of sorrow and pain,
Ere can be known to you how much a Father
May love his Child.
MARMADUKE
Thank you, old Man, for this! [Aside. ]
HERBERT Fallen am I, and worn out, a useless Man;
Kindly have you protected me to-night,
And no return have I to make but prayers;
May you in age be blest with such a daughter! --
When from the Holy Land I had returned
Sightless, and from my heritage was driven,
A wretched Outcast--but this strain of thought
Would lead me to talk fondly.
MARMADUKE Do not fear;
Your words are precious to my ears; go on.
HERBERT You will forgive me, but my heart runs over.
When my old Leader slipped into the flood
And perished, what a piercing outcry you
Sent after him. I have loved you ever since.
You start--where are we?
MARMADUKE Oh, there is no danger;
The cold blast struck me.
HERBERT
'Twas a foolish question.
MARMADUKE But when you were an Outcast? --Heaven is just;
Your piety would not miss its due reward;
The little Orphan then would be your succour,
And do good service, though she knew it not.
HERBERT I turned me from the dwellings of my Fathers,
Where none but those who trampled on my rights
Seemed to remember me. To the wide world
I bore her, in my arms; her looks won pity;
She was my Raven in the wilderness,
And brought me food. Have I not cause to love her?
MARMADUKE Yes.
HERBERT More than ever Parent loved a Child?
MARMADUKE Yes, yes.
HERBERT I will not murmur, merciful God!
I will not murmur; blasted as I have been,
Thou hast left me ears to hear my Daughter's voice,
And arms to fold her to my heart. Submissively
Thee I adore, and find my rest in faith.