The Works - 1823 Author:George Crabbe Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: The Morning Walk—Village Scenery—The Vidow's Dwelling —Her Story related—The first Husband—His Indulgence— Its Consequence—Dies—The second—His Authority—Its Effe... more »cts—His Death—A third Husband—Determinately indulgent He —dies also—The Widow's Retirement TALES OF THE HALL. BOOK XVII. THE WIDOW. RICHARD one morning—it was custom now— Walk'd and conversed with labourers at the plough, With threshers hastening to their daily task, With woodmen resting o'er the enlivening flask, And with the shepherd, watchful of his fold Beneath the hill, and pacing in the cold: Further afield he sometimes would proceed, And take a path wherever it might lead. It led him far about to Wickham Green, Where stood the mansion of the village queen; Her garden yet its wintry blossoms bore, And roses graced the windows and the door— That lasting kind, that through the varying year Or in the bud or in the bloom appear; All flowers that now the gloomy days adorn Rose on the view, and smiled upon that morn: Richard a damsel at the window spied, Who kindly drew a useless veil aside, And show'd a lady who was sitting by, So pensive, that he almost heard her sigh: Full many years she could, no question, tell, But in her mourning look'd extremely well. " In truth," said Richard, when he told at night His tale to George, " it was a pleasant sight; " She look'd like one who could, in tender tone, " Say, ' Will you let a lady sigh alone ? " ' See! Time has touch'd me gently in his race, " ' And left no odious furrows in my face; " ' See, too, this house and garden, neat and trim, " ' Kept for its master Will you stand for him ?' " Say this is vain and foolish if you please, " But I believe her thoughts resembled these: " ' Come!' said her looks, ' and we will kindly ...« less