Of ordinary men; a stately speech;
Such as grave Livers5 do in Scotland use,
Religious men, who give to God and man their dues.
15
He told, that to these waters he had come
100 To gather leeches,6 being old and poor:
Employment hazardous and wearisome!
And he had many hardships to endure:
From pond to pond he roamed, from moor to moor;
Housing, with God's good help, by choice or chance;
105 And in this way he gained an honest maintenance.
16
The old Man still stood talking by my side;
But now his voice to me was like a stream
5. Those who live gravely (as opposed to 'loose erer, bare legged in shallow water, stirred the water livers,' those who live for a life of pleasure). to attract them and, when they fastened them
6. Used by medical attendants to draw their selves to his legs, picked them off. patients' blood for curative purposes. A leech gath
.
I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD / 305
Scarce heard; nor word from word could I divide;
And the whole body of the Man did seem
no Like one whom I had met with in a dream;
Or like a man from some far region sent,
To give me human strength, by apt admonishment.
17
My former thoughts returned: the fear that kills;
And hope that is unwilling to be fed;
115 Cold, pain, and labour, and all fleshly ills;
And mighty Poets in their misery dead.
?Perplexed, and longing to be comforted,
My question eagerly did I renew,
'How is it that you live, and what is it you do?'
18
120 He with a smile did then his words repeat;
And said, that, gathering leeches, far and wide
He travelled; stirring thus about his feet
The waters of the pools where they abide.
'Once I could meet with them on every side;
125 But they have dwindled long by slow decay;
Yet still I persevere, and find them where I may.'
19
While he was talking thus, the lonely place,
The old Man's shape, and speech?all troubled me:
In my mind's eye I seemed to see him pace
130 About the weary moors continually,
Wandering about alone and silently.
While I these thoughts within myself pursued,
He, having made a pause, the same discourse renewed.
20
And soon with this he other matter blended,
