XXV.

At early dawn the youth his journey took, And many a mountain passed, and valley wide, Then reached the wild; where, in a flowery nook, And seated on a mossy stone, he spied An ancient man: his harp lay him beside. A stag sprang from the pasture at his call, And, kneeling, licked the withered hand, that tied A wreath of woodbine round his antlers tall, And hung his lofty neck with many a floweret small.