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  Before I knew thy face.  Heaven bless thee, Boy! 
  Thy heart these two weeks has been beating fast
  With many hopes; it should be so—­yes, yes,—­
  I knew that thou couldst never have a wish
  To leave me, Luke; thou hast been bound to me 400
  Only by links of love:  when thou art gone
  What will be left to us!—­But I forget
  My purposes.  Lay now the corner-stone,
  As I requested; and hereafter, Luke,
  When thou art gone away, should evil men 405
  Be thy companions, think of me, my Son,
  And of this moment; hither turn thy thoughts,
  And God will strengthen thee:  amid all fear
  And all temptation, Luke, I pray that thou
  May’st bear in mind the life thy Fathers lived, 410
  Who, being innocent, did for that cause
  Bestir them in good deeds.  Now, fare thee well—­
  When thou return’st, thou in this place wilt see
  A work which is not here:  a covenant
  ’Twill be between us; but, whatever fate 415
  Befall thee, I shall love thee to the last,
  And bear thy memory with me to the grave.”

  The Shepherd ended here; and Luke stooped down,
  And, as his Father had requested, laid
  The first stone of the Sheep-fold.  At the sight 420
  The old Man’s grief broke from him; to his heart
  He pressed his Son, he kissed him and wept;
  And to the house together they returned. 
  —­Hushed was that House in peace, or seeming peace,
  Ere the night fell:—­with morrow’s dawn the Boy 425
  Began his journey, and when he had reached
  The public way, he put on a bold face;
  And all the neighbors, as he passed their doors,
  Came forth with wishes and with farewell prayers,
  That followed him till he was out of sight. 430

  A good report did from their Kinsman come,
  Of Luke and his well doing:  and the Boy
  Wrote loving letters, full of wondrous news,
  Which, as the Housewife phrased it, were throughout
  “The prettiest letters that were ever seen.” 435
  Both parents read them with rejoicing hearts. 
  So, many months passed on; and once again
  The Shepherd went about his daily work
  With confident and cheerful thoughts; and now
  Sometimes when he could find a leisure hour 440
  He to that valley took his way, and there
  Wrought at the Sheep-fold.  Meantime Luke began
  To slacken in his duty; and, at length,
  He in the dissolute city gave himself
  To evil courses:  ignominy and shame 445
  Fell on him, so that he was driven at last
  To seek a hiding place beyond the seas.