At length he spies a bleeding wound,
  Where he had struck the Ass’s head; [80]
  He sees the blood, knows what it is,—­
  A glimpse of sudden joy was his,
  But then it quickly fled; 730

  Of him whom sudden death had seized
  He thought,—­of thee, O faithful Ass! 
  And once again those ghastly pains,
  Shoot to and fro through heart and reins,
  And through his brain like lightning pass. [81] 735

PART THIRD

  I’ve heard of one, a gentle Soul,
  Though given to sadness and to gloom,
  And for the fact will vouch,—­one night
  It chanced that by a taper’s light
  This man was reading in his room; 740

  Bending, as you or I might bend
  At night o’er any pious book, [82]
  When sudden blackness overspread
  The snow white page on which he read,
  And made the good man round him look. 745

  The chamber walls were dark all round,—­
  And to his book he turned again;
—­The light had left the lonely taper, [83]
  And formed itself upon the paper
  Into large letters—­bright and plain! 750

  The godly book was in his hand—­
  And, on the page, more black than coal,
  Appeared, set forth in strange array,
  A word—­which to his dying day
  Perplexed the good man’s gentle soul. 755

  The ghostly word, thus plainly seen, [84]
  Did never from his lips depart;
  But he hath said, poor gentle wight! 
  It brought full many a sin to light
  Out of the bottom of his heart. 760

  Dread Spirits! to confound the meek [85]
  Why wander from your course so far,
  Disordering colour, form, and stature! 
—­Let good men feel the soul of nature,
  And see things as they are. 765

  Yet, potent Spirits! well I know,
  How ye, that play with soul and sense,
  Are not unused to trouble friends
  Of goodness, for most gracious ends—­[86]
  And this I speak in reverence! 770

  But might I give advice to you,
  Whom in my fear I love so well;
  From men of pensive virtue go,
  Dread Beings! and your empire show
  On hearts like that of Peter Bell. 775

  Your presence often have I [87] felt
  In darkness and the stormy night;
  And, with like force, [88] if need there be,
  Ye can put forth your agency
  When earth is calm, and heaven is bright. 780

  Then, coming from the wayward world,
  That powerful world in which ye dwell,
  Come, Spirits of the Mind! and try,
  To-night, beneath the moonlight sky,
  What may be done with Peter Bell! 785