Page:Poetical works of William Blake (Sampson, 1913).djvu/181

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I asked a Thief

I asked a Thief

I askèd a thief to steal me a peach:
He turnèd up his eyes.
I ask'd a lithe lady to lie her down:
Holy and meek, she cries.


As soon as I went 5
An Angel came:
He wink'd at the thief,
And smil'd at the dame;


And without one word said
Had a peach from the tree, 10
And still as a maid
Enjoy'd the lady.


I heard an Angel singing

I heard an Angel singing
When the day was springing:
'Mercy, Pity, Peace
Is the. world's release.'


Thus he sang all day 5
Over the new-mown hay,
Till the sun went down,
And haycocks lookèd brown.

I asked a Thief] 2 And he turnèd etc. MS. 1st rdg. del. 5,6 Blake writes as a single line. 7 He] And he MS. 1st rdg. del. 9 said] spoke MS. 1st rdg. del. 11 And 'twixt earnest and joke MS. 1st rdg. del. 12 Enjoy'd] He enjoy'd MS. 1st rdg. del.

I heard an Angel singing] A variant version of 'The Human Image', engraved under the title 'The Human Abstract' in the Songs of Experience

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