Meanwhile the wolfish face,
Resettled to its customary place,
Was staring as before, into the sky,
Stolid. The other woman heavily
Gather'd herself together, bruised, in pain,
Half rose up, slipp'd on something, and again
Sank feebly back upon her hand.
But now
What new emotion shakes her? Doth she know
What this is, that her fingers on the stone
Have felt, and, feeling, close so fiercely on!
This pocket-book? with gold enough within
To feed ... Alas! and must it be a sin
To keep it? Were it possible to pay
With what its very robber flings away
For bread ... bread! ... bread! ... and still not starve, yet still
Be honest!
" Were one doing very ill
If ... One should pray ... if one could pray, that's sure,
The strength would come at last. We are so poor!
So poor ... 'tis terrible! To understand
Such things, one should be learn'd, and have at hand
Ever so many good religious books,
And texts, and things. And then one starves. It looks.
So like a godsend. What does the Book say
About " the lions, roaring, seek their prey"?
And the young ravens? " Ye are more than these."
Ah, but one starves, tho'! "
Crouch'd upon her knees
She dragg'd herself up close against the wall,
And counted the gold pieces.
" Food for all?
And leave to live ... till one can work, of course.
Why else should God have sent it? Which is worse
To starve, or ... 'Tis as long as it is broad.
And then, consider this, I pray, dear God!
This that was born a human soul! Ah me,
God's creatures to be left like this! Just see
How thin she is! "
Her hands about the thing
They clutch'd began to twitch. Still fingering
The gold convulsively, again she thought,
Or tried to think, of lessons early taught,
Easy to learn once, in the village school,
When to be honest seem'd the simple rule
For being happy; and of many a text
That task'd old Sundays; growing more perplext,
As, more and more, her giddy memory made
Haphazard catches at the words.
" Who said
" Therefore I say unto you" (ah! 'twere sweet)
" Have no thought for your lives, what ye shall eat"
(If that were possible!) — " nor what to wear"?
Have no thought? that should mean, then, have no care!
And elsewhere ... " Ask, and ye shall have." "
She stopp'd,
And trembled. And the tempting treasure dropp'd
From her faint hand.
She snatch'd it up again,
And cried, " Mine! mine! be it the Devil's gain
Or God's good gift! Sure, what folks must, folks may,
And folks must live. "
She gazed out every way
Along the gloomy street. In desert land
To tempted saints mankind was more at hand
Than now it seem'd to this poor spirit pent
In populous city.
Resettled to its customary place,
Was staring as before, into the sky,
Stolid. The other woman heavily
Gather'd herself together, bruised, in pain,
Half rose up, slipp'd on something, and again
Sank feebly back upon her hand.
But now
What new emotion shakes her? Doth she know
What this is, that her fingers on the stone
Have felt, and, feeling, close so fiercely on!
This pocket-book? with gold enough within
To feed ... Alas! and must it be a sin
To keep it? Were it possible to pay
With what its very robber flings away
For bread ... bread! ... bread! ... and still not starve, yet still
Be honest!
" Were one doing very ill
If ... One should pray ... if one could pray, that's sure,
The strength would come at last. We are so poor!
So poor ... 'tis terrible! To understand
Such things, one should be learn'd, and have at hand
Ever so many good religious books,
And texts, and things. And then one starves. It looks.
So like a godsend. What does the Book say
About " the lions, roaring, seek their prey"?
And the young ravens? " Ye are more than these."
Ah, but one starves, tho'! "
Crouch'd upon her knees
She dragg'd herself up close against the wall,
And counted the gold pieces.
" Food for all?
And leave to live ... till one can work, of course.
Why else should God have sent it? Which is worse
To starve, or ... 'Tis as long as it is broad.
And then, consider this, I pray, dear God!
This that was born a human soul! Ah me,
God's creatures to be left like this! Just see
How thin she is! "
Her hands about the thing
They clutch'd began to twitch. Still fingering
The gold convulsively, again she thought,
Or tried to think, of lessons early taught,
Easy to learn once, in the village school,
When to be honest seem'd the simple rule
For being happy; and of many a text
That task'd old Sundays; growing more perplext,
As, more and more, her giddy memory made
Haphazard catches at the words.
" Who said
" Therefore I say unto you" (ah! 'twere sweet)
" Have no thought for your lives, what ye shall eat"
(If that were possible!) — " nor what to wear"?
Have no thought? that should mean, then, have no care!
And elsewhere ... " Ask, and ye shall have." "
She stopp'd,
And trembled. And the tempting treasure dropp'd
From her faint hand.
She snatch'd it up again,
And cried, " Mine! mine! be it the Devil's gain
Or God's good gift! Sure, what folks must, folks may,
And folks must live. "
She gazed out every way
Along the gloomy street. In desert land
To tempted saints mankind was more at hand
Than now it seem'd to this poor spirit pent
In populous city.