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Part III.
PETER BELL.
75
What could he do?—The Woman lay
Breathless and motionless;—the mind
Of Peter sadly was confus'd;
But, though to such demands unus'd,
And helpless almost as the blind,
He rais'd her up; and, while he held
Her body propp'd against his knee,
The Woman wak'd—and when she spied
The poor Ass standing by her side,
She moaned most bitterly.
"Oh! God be prais'd!—my heart's at ease—
"For he is dead—I know it well!"
—At this she wept a bitter flood;
And, in the best way that he could,
His tale did Peter tell.
