Songs, Ballads, and Other Poems by the late Thomas Haynes Bayly; Edited by his Widow. With A Memoir of the Author. In Two Volumes |
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ONCE A SILLY MAID. |
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 | Songs, Ballads, and Other Poems |  |
ONCE A SILLY MAID.
I
Once a silly maid exclaimed,“Children wail and fools grow pale,
Whene'er a fairy sprite is nam'd,
In song or gossip tale.
202
On its limits let me stand,
I'll make fun of Oberon,
And break his pigmy wand.”
II
Cried a friend, “Thou'rt brave by day,But at night perhaps I might
Chace thy unbelief away,
And scare thee with a sprite.
Wilt thou, when the clock strikes one,
Seek the fairy glen alone?”
“Yes; agreed, I'll do the deed,
And laugh when it is done.”
III
To the fairy glen she went,Half afraid to turn her head.
Secretly she did repent
The bargain she had made.
Ev'ry leaf that chanc'd to stir
Seem'd to be a sprite to her,
Bat or owl, or the howl
Of the village cur.
IV
Home she hurried, half asham'd;What occur'd was never heard,
But when fairy-land is nam'd,
She never says a word.
Some indeed presume to say,
She met a husband young and gay;
Not a sprite; yet her heart that night
Was spirited away.
| Songs, Ballads, and Other Poems | |