The Miscreant

He glares out from the gathering dusk
With furtive glancing eye,
A creature hunted, and at war
With every passer-by.

Such a malignant face he turns,
You feel a sudden fear,
Born of the knowledge which proclaims
An evil thing is near.

A man goes by--ah, mark that scowl--
A woman young and fair,
Evil the look he bends on her--
Then comes a gallant pair.

A laddie tall, and by his side
A baby-girl, who cries
Good night! out to the miscreant,
And laughs up in his eyes.

At strife is he with all the world,
But for a moment’s space,
Something akin to tenderness
Flares up in that dark face.