Page:Poems - Southey (1799) volume 2.djvu/134

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122

He lifted up the murdered man And plunged him in the flood,And in the running waters then He cleansed his hands from blood.
The waters closed around the corpse And cleansed his hands from gore,The willow waved, the stream flowed on And murmured as before.
There was no human eye had seen The blood the murderer spilt,And Jaspar's conscience never knew The avenging goad of guilt.
And soon the ruffian had consum'd The gold he gain'd so ill,And years of secret guilt pass'd on And he was needy still.
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