The friar he quaffed, but no longer he laughed, He changed from red to pale: "Oh, hapless elf! 'tis the fiend himself, The friar he quaffed, he took a deep draught; "Oh, slave of pelf, 'tis the devil himself, "And, sure as the day, he'll fetch thee away, The farmer gave vent to a loud lament, Their relish for pig and ale was flown; The friar was gone: the morning dawn The horses were black: on their dewy track, More dark and grim, in face and limb, As his empty wain, with steeds thrice twain, On the stranger's face was a sly grimace, As he seized the sacks of grain, And, one by one, till left were none, And slyly he leered, as his hand upreared Where bright and fresh, through a silver mesh, Shone forth the glistering gold. The farmer held out his right hand stout, For in fancy he heard each warning word His eye was set on the silver net; His thoughts were in fearful strife; And, swift as thought, the stranger caught And at once the twain, and the loaded wain, The gable-end wall of Manor Hall The wife gave a cry that rent the sky, At her goodman's downward flight; But she held the purse fast, and a glance she cast "Twas the fiend's full pay for her goodman gray, Which made her declare that "his dealings were fair, She wore the black pall for Farmer Wall, But she won the vows of a younger spouse, Now, farmers beware, what oaths you swear, And with good heed, the moral a-read, If your corn you sell to the fiend of hell, And if by mishap, you fall in the trap,— NEWARK ABBEY, On the Wey, near Chertsey, Surrey. [Written in 1842 with a reminiscence of August, 1807; Published in Fraser in 1860.] I GAZE where August's sunbeam falls For all too well my spirit feels |