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I cannot recall her figure:

Was it regal as Juno's own?

Or only a trifle bigger

Than the elves who surround the throne Of the Faëry Queen, and are seen, I ween, By mortals in dreams alone?

What her eyes were like, I know not:
Perhaps they were blurr'd with tears;
And perhaps in your skies there glow not
(On the contrary) clearer spheres.
No! as to her eyes I am just as wise
As you or the cat, my dears.

Her teeth, I presume, were “pearly:"
But which was she, brunette or blonde?
Her hair, was it quaintly curly,

Or as straight as a beadle's wand?

That I fail'd to remark;

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it was rather dark

And shadowy round the pond.

Then the hand that reposed so snugly

In mine,

was it plump or spare?

Was the countenance fair or ugly?

Nay, children, you have me there!

My eyes were p'raps blurr'd; and besides I'd heard That it's horribly rude to stare.

And I- was I brusque and surly?
Or oppressively bland and fond?

Was I partial to rising early?

Or why did we twain abscond,

All breakfastless, too, from the public view,
To prowl by a misty pond?

What pass'd, what was felt or spoken -
Whether anything pass'd at all

And whether the heart was broken

That beat under that shelt'ring shawl

(If shawl she had on, which I doubt) - has gone, Yes, gone from me past recall.

Was I haply the lady's suitor?

Or her uncle? I can't make out

Ask your governess, dears, or tutor.

For myself, I'm in hopeless doubt

As to why we were there, who on earth we were,
And what this is all about.

Charles Stuart Calverley

THE LAWYER'S INVOCATION TO SPRING

Whereas, on certain boughs and sprays
Now divers birds are heard to sing,
And sundry flowers their heads upraise,
Hail to the coming on of Spring!

The songs of those said birds arouse

The memory of our youthful hours,
As green as those said sprays and boughs,
As fresh and sweet as those said flowers.

The birds aforesaid - happy pairs

Love, 'mid the aforesaid boughs, inshrines In freehold nests; themselves their heirs, Administrators, and assigns.

O busiest term of Cupid's Court,

Where tender plaintiffs actions bring, —

Season of frolic and of sport,

Hail, as aforesaid, coming Spring!

Henry Howard Brownell

NEGRO LULLABY

Bedtime's come fu' little boys,

Po' little lamb.

Too tiahed out to make a noise,

Po' little lamb.

You gwine t' have to-morrer sho'?

Yes, you tole me dat befo',

Don't you fool me, chile, no' mo',

Po' little lamb.

You been bad de livelong day,
Po' little lamb.

Th'owin' stones an' runnin' 'way,
Po' little lamb.

My, but you's a-runnin' wil',

Look jes' lak some po' folks' chile;
Mam' gwine whup you atter while,
Po' little lamb.

Come hyeah! you mos' tiahed to def,
Po' little lamb.

Played yo'se'f clean out o' bref,

Po' little lamb.

See dem han's now sich a sight!
Would you evah b'lieve dey's white?
Stan' still twell I wash 'em right,
Po' little lamb.

Jes' cain't hol' yo' haid up straight,
Po' little lamb.

Hadn't oughter played so late,

Po' little lamb.

Mammy do' know whut she'd do,
Ef de chillun's all lak you;
You's a caution now fu' true,
Po' little lamb.

Lay yo' haid down in my lap,
Po' little lamb.

Y' ought to have a right good slap,
Po' little lamb.

You been runnin' 'roun' a heap.
Shet dem eyes an' don't you peep,
Dah now, dah now, go to sleep,

Po' little lamb.

Paul Laurence Dunbar

THREE "RHYMES OF IRONQUILL'

CAPERS ET CAPER

From a chimney on the roof

Of the Wilder House hotel,
Did a William goat espy

An old army mule go by;

Spied those vast and sail-like ears
And he jeered the mule with jeers.

Then the mule he made a tack,

Brought his jib round to the wind,
Main and mizzen ears aback,

And his starboard eye he skinned;
Then he reached that goat a hoof
That dismissed him from the roof.

Soliloquy

Morals two this tale will teach:
First, there isn't any rule
That will cipher out the reach
Of an ancient army mule;
Second, there are many dangers
In misestimating strangers.

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PASS

A father said unto his hopeful son:

"Who was Leonidas, my cherished one?"

The boy replied, with words of ardent nature:

"He was a member of the Legislature."

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'How?" asked the parent; then the youngster saith:

"He got a pass, and held her like grim death."

"Whose pass? What pass?" the anxious father cried; "'Twas the'r monopoly," the boy replied.

In deference to the public, we must state

That boy has been an orphan since that date.

NEOPHYTE

Last night a zealous Irishman in town,

Meeting a Jew, squared off and knocked him down.

And when the Jew inquired of such behavior,
Michael replied, “Bedad, ye kilt me Saviour.”

The Jew replied: "My friend, that is not so;
It happened eighteen centuries ago."

Mike simply said: "Bedad, ye may be right,
But then I only heard of it last night!"

And striking out reckless again, and loose,
Becomes a martyr - in the calaboose.

Theology and ignorance combined

Make bigotry, and that makes all men blind;
And streams of ruin from this common source
Have swept the world with devastating force.

Eugene F. Ware ("Ironquill")

MY AUNT

My aunt! my dear unmarried aunt!
Long years have o'er her flown;
Yet still she strains the aching clasp
That binds her virgin zone;

I know it hurts her, — though she looks
As cheerful as she can;

Her waist is ampler than her life,
For life is but a span.

My aunt, my poor deluded aunt!
Her hair is almost gray;

Why will she train that winter curl
In such a spring-like way?

How can she lay her glasses down,
And say she reads as well,

When, through a double convex lens,

She just makes out to spell?

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