Lyrical Ballads (1798)/Simon Lee, the old Huntsman
For other versions of this work, see Simon Lee, The Old Huntsman.
SIMON LEE,
THE OLD HUNTSMAN,
WITH AN INCIDENT IN WHICH HE WAS CONCERNED.
In the sweet shire of Cardigan, Not far from pleasant Ivor-hall, An old man dwells, a little man, I've heard he once was tall. Of years he has upon his back, No doubt, a burthen weighty; He says he is three score and ten, But others say he's eighty.
A long blue livery-coat has he,That’s fair behind, and fair before;Yet, meet him where you will, you seeAt once that he is poor.Full five and twenty years he livedA running huntsman merry;And, though he has but one eye left,His cheek is like a cherry.
No man like him the horn could sound.And no man was so full of glee;To say the least, four counties roundHad heard of Simon Lee;His master’s dead, and no one nowDwells in the hall of Ivor;Men, dogs, and horses, all are dead;He is the sole survivor.
His hunting feats have him bereftOf his right eye, as you may see:And then, what limbs those feats have leftTo poor old Simon Lee!He has no son, he has no child,His wife, an aged woman,Lives with him, near the waterfall,Upon the village common.
And he is lean and he is sick,His little body’s half awryHis ancles they are swoln and thickHis legs are thin and dry.When he was young he little knewOf husbandry or tillage;And now he’s forced to work, though weak,—The weakest in the village.
He all the country could outrun,Could leave both man and horse behind;And often, ere the race was done,He reeled and was stone-blind.And still there’s something in the worldAt which his heart rejoices;For when the chiming hounds are out,He dearly loves their voices!
Old Ruth works out of doors with him,And does what Simon cannot do;For she, not over stout of limb,Is stouter of the two.And though you with your utmost skillFrom labour could not wean them,Alas! ’tis very little, allWhich they can do between them.
Beside their moss-grown hut of clay,Not twenty paces from the door,A scrap of land they have, but theyAre poorest of the poor.This scrap of land he from the heathEnclosed when he was stronger;But what avails the land to them,Which they can till no longer?
Few months of life has he in store,As he to you will tell,For still, the more he works, the moreHis poor old ancles swell.My gentle reader, I perceiveHow patiently you’ve waited,And I’m afraid that you expectSome tale will be related.
O reader! had you in your mindSuch stores as silent thought can bring,O gentle reader! you would findA tale in every thing.What more I have to say is short,I hope you’ll kindly take it;It is no tale; but should you think,Perhaps a tale you’ll make it.
One summer-day I chanced to seeThis old man doing all he couldAbout the root of an old tree,A stump of rotten wood.The mattock totter’d in his hand;So vain was his endeavourThat at the root of the old treeHe might have worked for ever.
"You're overtasked, good Simon Lee,Give me your tool" to him I said;And at the word right gladly heReceived my proffer'd aid.I struck, and with a single blowThe tangled root I sever'd,At which the poor old man so longAnd vainly had endeavour'd.
The tears into his eyes were brought,And thanks and praises seemed to runSo fast out of his heart, I thoughtThey never would have done.—I've heard of hearts unkind, kind deedsWith coldness still returning.Alas! the gratitude of menHas oftner left me mourning.