Songs, Ballads and Stories by William Allingham ... Including Many Now First Collected: The Rest Revised and Rearranged |
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THE WONDROUS WELL. |
 | Songs, Ballads and Stories by William Allingham |  |
THE WONDROUS WELL.
Came north and south and east and west,
Four Pilgrims to a mountain crest,
Each vow'd to search the wide world round,
Until the Wondrous Well be found;
For even here, as old songs tell,
Shine sun and moon upon that Well;
And now, the lonely crag their seat,
The water rises at their feet.
Four Pilgrims to a mountain crest,
Each vow'd to search the wide world round,
Until the Wondrous Well be found;
For even here, as old songs tell,
Shine sun and moon upon that Well;
And now, the lonely crag their seat,
The water rises at their feet.
Said One, “This Well is small and mean,
Too petty for a village-green.”
Another said, “So smooth and dumb—
From earth's deep centre can it come?”
The Third, “This water's nothing rare,
Hueless and savourless as air.”
The Fourth, “A Fane I look'd to see:
Where the true Well is, that must be.”
Too petty for a village-green.”
Another said, “So smooth and dumb—
From earth's deep centre can it come?”
The Third, “This water's nothing rare,
Hueless and savourless as air.”
The Fourth, “A Fane I look'd to see:
Where the true Well is, that must be.”
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They rose and left the lofty crest,
One north, one south, one east, one west;
Through many seas and deserts wide
They wander'd, thirsting, till they died;
Because no other water can
Assuage the deepest thirst of man.
—Shepherds who by the mountain dwell,
Dip their pitchers in that Well.
One north, one south, one east, one west;
Through many seas and deserts wide
They wander'd, thirsting, till they died;
Because no other water can
Assuage the deepest thirst of man.
—Shepherds who by the mountain dwell,
Dip their pitchers in that Well.
| Songs, Ballads and Stories by William Allingham | |