Aaron Stark

Withal a meagre man was Aaron Stark,— Cursed and unkempt, shrewd, shrivelled, and morose. A miser was he, with a miser's nose, And eyes like little dollars in the dark. His thin, pinched mouth was nothing but a mark; And when he spoke there came like sullen blows Through scattered fangs a few snarled words and close, As if a cur were chary of its bark.

Glad for the murmur of his hard renown, Year after year he shambled through the town,— A loveless exile moving with a staff; And oftentimes there crept into his ears A sound of alien pity, touched with tears,— And then (and only then) did Aaron laugh.