Vii

And stark I stood among the sodden stones, Icy with fever, hearing in each gale Strange footsteps,--while within my soul were moans For strength,--as powerless as I was pale. Then I remembered that within a tale Once I had read--a chronicle of ills Cowled monks had written--how one shall not fail To find, unsought, the Fiend, if so he wills, Cloak, cap, and cock's crook'd plume among the lonely hills.