Part 2 — "I TOOK A HANSOM ON TO-DAY"
Reading edition
I took a hansom on to-day, For a round I used to know— That I used to take for a woman's sake In a fever of to-and-fro.
There were the landmarks one and all— What did they stand to show? Street and square and river were there— Where was the ancient woe?
Never a hint of a challenging hope Nor a hope laid sick and low, But a longing dead as its kindred sped A thousand years ago!
William Ernest Henley [1849-1903]