A well there is in the West Country, And a clearer one never was seen;There is not a wife in the West Country But has heard of the Well of St. Keyne.
An oak and an elm-tree stand beside, And behind doth an ash-tree grow,And a willow from the bank above Droops to the water below.
A traveller came to the Well of St. Keyne; Joyfully he drew nigh,For from cock-crow he had been travelling, And there was not a cloud in the sky.
He drank of the water so cool and clear, For thirsty and hot was he;And he sat down upon the bank, Under the willow-tree.
There came a man from the neighbouring town At the well to fill his pail;By the well-side he rested it, And he bade the stranger hail.
"Now, art thou a bachelor, stranger? "quoth he, "For, an" if thou hast a wife,The happiest draught thou hast drunk this day That ever thou didst in thy life.
" Or has thy good woman, if one thou hast, Ever here in Cornwall been?
For, an" if she have, I"ll venture my life, She has drunk of the Well of St. Keyne. "" I have left a good woman who never was here, " The stranger he made reply;" But that my draught should be better for that, I pray you answer me why. "" St. Keyne, " quoth the Cornishman, " many a time Drank of this crystal well;And, before the angel summoned her, She laid on the water a spell :
"If the husband of this gifted well Shall drink before his wife,A happy man henceforth is he, For he shall be master for life.
" But, if the wife should drink of it first, Woe be to the husband then ! "-The stranger stooped to the Well of St. Keyne, And drank of the water again.
" You drank of the well, I warrant, betimes, " He to the Cornishman said;But the Cornishman smiled as the stranger spake, And sheepishly shook his head.
" I hastened as soon as the wedding was done, And left my wife in the porch;But faith she had been wiser than I, For she took a bottle to church ! "Robert Southey
Author.-Robert Southey (1774-1843) was an English poet and prose writer. His longer poems include The Curse of Kehama and The Vision of Judgment. His greatest prose work is The Life of Nelson.
General.-Here is humour of a more subtle kind than in Lawson"s "Loaded Dog. " St. Keyne was a holy lady who lived, it is said, about the year 490 in Cornwall. There is an old church bearing her name at Liskeard. What spell did she lay on the well? How did the Cornishman try to take advantage of it? How did his sweetheart circumvent him? Tell any other legends you know about "Wishing Wells " and the like.