The Well of St. Keyne

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 does 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:

Pleasant it was to his eye,

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;

On the well-side he rested it,

And 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 your good woman, if one you have,

In Cornwall ever 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 countryman, "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 thenceforth is he,

For he shall be master for life.

"But if the wife should drink of it first,

God help the husband then!"

The stranger stoop'd to the Well of St. Keyne,

And drank of the waters again.

"You drank of the well, I warrant, betimes?"

He to the countryman said;

But the countryman 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 i' faith she had been wiser than me,

For she took a bottle to church,"

Robert Southey.