“ On every hand, by that black shining wall;
With naught to do but sit and wait
Till rescue came, if rescue came at all,
And did not come too late.
And, in the fresher airway, light came back
To Robert's eyes, although he never spoke:
And not a sound the deathly quiet broke,
As they sat staring at that wall of black--
As, in the glimmer of the dusky lamp,
They sat and wondered, wondered if the damp--
The stealthy after-damp that creeping, creeping,
Takes strong lads by the throat, and drops them sleeping,
To wake no more for any woman's weeping--
Would steal upon them, ere the rescue came.... ”

“ And looking back, with hand to brow,
As if to shade old eyes, grown weak
Awaiting the long sleep they'd earned:
Though, as again towards him I strode,
A friendly light within them burned.
And then, as I drew nigh, he spoke
With shaking head, and voice that broke:
"I've missed you these last nights," he said
"And I have not so many now
That I can miss friends easily...
Aye: friends grow scarce, as you grow old:
And roads are rough: and winds are cold:
And when you feel you're losing hold,
Life does not go too merrily." ”

“ As, gripping both its parents' hands quite tight,
It found itself in fairylands of light,
Walking with grown-up people through the night:
Then, turning, with a shudder he would see
Poor painted faces, leering frightfully,
And so drop back from heaven again to hell.
And then, somehow, though how he scarce could tell,
He found that he was walking through the throng,
Quite happy, with a young girl at his side--
A young girl apple-cheeked and eager-eyed;
And her frank, friendly chatter seemed a song
To him, who ne'er till now had heard life sing. ”

“ And muttered to me, as he took her hand:
"It's queer, it's queer, that she, to-night, should stand,
Who has not stood alone for fifteen year.
Though I heard nothing, she was quick to hear.
I must have dozed; but she has been awake,
And listening for your footstep since daybreak:
For she was certain you would come to-day;
Aye, she was sure, for all that I could say:
Talk as I might, she would not go to bed,
Till you should come. Your supper has been spread
This long while: you'll be ready for your meat." ”

“ For hands must not be idle when the year
Is getting through, and Christmas drawing near,
With piles on piles of picture-books to print
For people who spend money without stint:
And, while they're paying down their liberal gold,
Guess little what is bought, and what is sold.
But he, at last, was free till Monday, free
To sleep, to eat, to dream, to sulk, to walk,
To laugh, to sing, to whistle, or to talk ... ”

“ And, as she talked, he saw the sea-light glint
In her dark eyes: and then the sleek machine
Lost hold on him at last; and ceased to print:
And in his eyes there sprang a kindred light,
As, hand in hand, they wandered through the night.
THE LODESTAR
From hag to hag, o'er miles of quaking moss,
Benighted, in an unknown countryside,
Among gaunt hills, the stars my only guide;
Bewildered by peat-waters, black and deep,
Wherein the mocking stars swam; spent for sleep;
O'er-wearied by long trudging; at a loss
Which way to turn for shelter from the night ”

“ He told how he, when quite a lad,
Had taught himself: and they would play
On penny whistles all the day--
He and the miller's son, beside
The millpool, chirping all they knew,
Till they could whistle clean and true:
And how, when old enough to earn,
They both saved up to buy a flute ”

“ He spoke with hand upon the latch;
And, when I answered, opened wide
The cottage-door; and stepped inside;
And, as I followed, struck a match,
And lit a tallow-dip: and stirred
The banked-up peats into a glow:
And then with shuffling step and slow
He moved about: and soon had set
Two mugs of beer, and bread and cheese:
And while we made a meal off these,
The old man never spoke a word ”

“ When the sun shone upon them, after wet...
And his eyes sparkled, as he turned to sell
A penny loaf and half-an-ounce of tea
To a poor child, who waited patiently,
With hacking cough that tore her hollow chest:
And, as she went out, clutching tight the change,
He muttered to himself: It's strange, it's strange
That little ones should suffer so.... ”

“ Like work to keep folk cheerful: when the hand
Was busy, you had little time for thought;
And thinking was the mischief ... and 'twas grand
To know that they'd be happy. Then the bell
Went tinkle-tinkle; and he turned to sell. ”

“ Then all was silent, till the back-room door
Swung open; and her husband hurried in.
He feared he'd kept me, waiting in the dark;
And he was sorry: but his wife who served
The customers at night-time usually--
While he made up the ledger after tea,
Was busy, when I ... Well, to tell the truth,
They were in trouble, for their little son
Had come in ill from school ... the doctor said
Pneumonia ... they'd been putting him to bed:
Perhaps, I'd heard them, moving overhead,
For boards would creak, and creak, for all your care.
They hoped the best; for he was young; and youth
Could come through much ”

“ And muttered with dull voice and slow:
"This fire has ne'er burned out through all these years--
Not since the hearthstone first was set--
And that is nigh two hundred year ago.
My father's father built this house; and I... ”