There, by the Sheep-fold, sometimes was he seen
Sitting alone, with that his faithful Dog,
Then old, beside him, lying at his feet.
The length of full seven years from time to time
He at the building of this Sheep-fold wrought,
And left the work unfinished when he died.
Three years, or little more, did Isabel,
Survive her Husband: at her death the estate
Was sold, and went into a Stranger's hand.
The Cottage which was nam'd The Evening Star
Is gone, the ploughshare has been through the ground
On which it stood; great changes have been wrought
In all the neighbourhood, yet the Oak is left
That grew beside their Door; and the remains
Of the unfinished Sheep-fold may be seen
Beside the boisterous brook of Green-head Gill.
NOTES TO THE POEM of THE BROTHERS.
NOTE I.
Page 26--line 20 "There were two springs that bubbled side by side."
The impressive circumstance here described, actually took place some
years ago in this country, upon an eminence called Kidstow Pike, one
of the highest of the mountains that surround Hawes-water. The
summit of the pike was stricken by lightning; and every trace of one
of the fountains disappeared, while the other continued to flow as
before.
NOTE II.
Page 29--line 5 "The thought of death sits easy on the man," &c.
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