On hearing a story he could readily shape it into
verse, extempore, too, upon occasion; and many were the jokes that
rebounded from his theme, whether in hall or kitchen. It was pleasant to
watch his little grey eye, and the twinkling lashes, as they rose and
fell, varying the expression of his lips. A slight lisp gave an air of
simplicity to his ditties, which never failed to charm his auditors. He
could throw the simplest expression over his features, which made the
keen edge of his rebukes infinitely more cutting and effective. But the
prevailing tone of feeling in him was sad and oppressive. These
wandering minstrels had, from remote ages, been held as seers, and a
peep into futurity was often supposed to accompany their poetical
inspirations--a superstition not confined to any particular locality,
but obtaining a widely disseminated belief in all climes and nations
where imagination assumes her sway, and dares to assert her power.
After a short space, and without any invitation, the ballad-maker, like
some Pythian priestess on her tripod, began to exhibit manifestations of
the _afflatus_. The spirit of song seemed to be stealing upon him, and
in a moment the listening auditory were still.
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