The Willow-Tree O'er the gray water: "Rouse thee, Sir Constable- Vainly the constable Vainly the fisherman Beat the green alder; Vainly he flung the net, Never it hauled her! Mother beside the fire Sat, her nightcap in; Father, in easy chair, When at the window-sill Came a light tapping! And a pale countenance Looked through the casement, Loud beat the mother's heart, Sick with amazement, And at the vision which Came to surprise her, Shrieked in an agony→→→→ "Lor'! it's Elizar!" Yes, 'twas Elizabeth Yes, 'twas their girl; Hair out of curl. "Mother," the loving one, Blushing exclaimed, "Let not your innocent Lizzy be blamed. 1937 "Yesterday, going to Aunt Mother, dear mother, I Forgot the door-key! Whether her Pa and Ma Stern they received her; And for the work of that Tea for a fortnight. MORAL Hey diddle diddlety, Cat and the fiddlety, Maidens of England, take caution by she! Let love and suicide Never tempt you aside, And always remember to take the door-key. William Makepeace Thackeray [1811-1863] POETS AND LINNETS AFTER ROBERT BROWNING WHERE'ER there's a thistle to feed a linnet For linnets will follow, if linnets are minded, Ballad And we blow the thistle-down hither and thither But thistles were only for donkeys intended, And that donkeys are common enough is clear, 1939 And that drop! what a vessel it might have befriended, Does it add any flavor to Glugabib's beer? Well, there's my musing ended. THE JAM-POT Tom Hood [1835-1874] One moment-checked your fist. But, as it was, too bold You grappled and you missed. "Well, neither of us shared I answer. . . . "Let me see. BALLAD AFTER WILLIAM MORRIS PART I THE auld wife sat at her ivied door, (Butter and eggs and a pound of cheese) A thing she had frequently done before; The piper he piped on the hill-top high, Till the cow said "I die," and the goose asked "Why?" And the dog said nothing, but searched for fleas. The farmer he strode through the square farmyard; (Butter and eggs and a pound of cheese) His last brew of ale was a trifle hard The connection of which with the plot one sees. The farmer's daughter hath frank blue eyes; I ART II She sat, with her hands 'neath her dimpled cheeks, And spake not a word. While a lady speaks She sat, with her hands 'neath her crimson cheeks, She gave up mending her father's breeks, And let the cat roll in her new chemise. She sat, with her hands 'neath her burning cheeks, (Butter and eggs and a pound of cheese) And gazed at the piper for thirteen weeks; Then she followed him out o'er the misty leas. Her sheep followed her, as their tails did them. And as to the meaning, it's what you please. Charles Stuart Calverley [1831-1884] The Poster-Girl 1941 THE POSTER-GIRL AFTER DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI THE blessed Poster-girl leaned out She had three fingers on her hand, And the hairs on her head were seven. Her robe, ungirt from clasp to hem, But a heavy Turkish portiere Was very neatly worn; And the hat that lay along her back It was a kind of wobbly wave And high aloft she flung a scarf That must have weighed a ton; And she was rather tall-at least She reached up to the sun. She curved and writhed, and then she said, "Perhaps I am absurd-perhaps I don't appeal to you; I saw her smile, although her eyes Were only smudgy smears; And then she swished her swirling arms, And wagged her gorgeous ears, She sobbed a blue-and-green-checked sob, And wept some purple tears. Carolyn Wells [186 |