Page:Wessex poems and other verses (IA wessexpoemsother00hard).pdf/94

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THE PEASANT'S CONFESSION

"Grouchy unwarned, moreo'er, the English win,
And mine is left to me—
They buy, not borrow."—Hence did I begin
To lead him treacherously.

By Joidoigne, near to east, as we ondrew,
Dawn pierced the humid air;
And eastward faced I with him, though I knew
Never marched Grouchy there.

Near Ottignies we passed, across the Dyle
(Lim'lette left far aside),
And thence direct toward Pervez and Noville
Through green grain, till he cried:

“I doubt thy conduct, man! no track is here
I doubt thy gagèd word!"
Thereat he scowled on me, and pranced me near,
And pricked me with his sword.

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