 | Dorothy |  |
'Twas in the quiet of noon; and Dolly, thus clad, thus attended,
Sat on a green hedge-bank, taking her rest for awhile:
Sat there with Billy the boy, for there they had eaten their dinner—
Bacon and bread and cold tea—under the shade of the hedge;
Under the shade of her team, for the tall plough-horses above her
Also were taking their ease, patiently waiting for her:
When, from the midst of the copse, from the heart of the mellowing woodlands,
Firing of guns was heard, whirring of terrified birds.
‘Gentlefolks!’ Dolly exclaim'd, and sprang up at once to her labour;
‘Billy, lad, straighten the team—maybe they're coming this way!’
And, with a crack of her whip, with a loud ‘Gee up!’ and a ‘Woa, horse!’
Off they all started—and she lifting and swaying behind.
Scarce had the great plough achieved one furrow and half of another,
When from the edge of the wood two polish'd strangers appear'd;
Each with his gun, and equipp'd with shooting-coat, leggings, and all that:
Gentlemen both, as it seem'd: guests at the Castle, no doubt.
One was an iron-grey man of forty, or even of fifty;
Statue-like, soldierly, calm; but the quick light in his eyes
Spake of a passionate past: the other was twenty years younger;
Still but a stripling, and fair; fair, with a lovely moustache.
‘Ah,’ cried the elder, ‘I see! This is Breakheart Field, with a vengeance!’
‘Yes, I remember it well; and there's a footpath, I know,
‘Somewhere about, by a farm, to the Ings—the waterside meadows;
‘There we can meet them, you know; that's where the luncheon's to be.’—
‘'Gad, though, look there!’ cried the youth;—‘a woman, by George!—and she's ploughing—
‘What, do they train them, out here—women—to follow the plough?
‘Uncle, we'll ask her the way—she's a social phenomenon, surely;
‘Which you can quote with effect, next time you bring in your Bill!
‘P'r'aps she has heard of your Bill to Regulate Female Employment—
‘“Women and children,” you know—won't she adore you for that!
‘Yet, if you look at her now, you'll admit she's a capital ploughman:
‘See how she helps it along—see how she handles her team!’
Sat on a green hedge-bank, taking her rest for awhile:
36
Bacon and bread and cold tea—under the shade of the hedge;
Under the shade of her team, for the tall plough-horses above her
Also were taking their ease, patiently waiting for her:
When, from the midst of the copse, from the heart of the mellowing woodlands,
Firing of guns was heard, whirring of terrified birds.
‘Gentlefolks!’ Dolly exclaim'd, and sprang up at once to her labour;
‘Billy, lad, straighten the team—maybe they're coming this way!’
And, with a crack of her whip, with a loud ‘Gee up!’ and a ‘Woa, horse!’
Off they all started—and she lifting and swaying behind.
Scarce had the great plough achieved one furrow and half of another,
When from the edge of the wood two polish'd strangers appear'd;
Each with his gun, and equipp'd with shooting-coat, leggings, and all that:
Gentlemen both, as it seem'd: guests at the Castle, no doubt.
One was an iron-grey man of forty, or even of fifty;
Statue-like, soldierly, calm; but the quick light in his eyes
Spake of a passionate past: the other was twenty years younger;
Still but a stripling, and fair; fair, with a lovely moustache.
‘Ah,’ cried the elder, ‘I see! This is Breakheart Field, with a vengeance!’
‘Yes, I remember it well; and there's a footpath, I know,
‘Somewhere about, by a farm, to the Ings—the waterside meadows;
‘There we can meet them, you know; that's where the luncheon's to be.’—
‘'Gad, though, look there!’ cried the youth;—‘a woman, by George!—and she's ploughing—
‘What, do they train them, out here—women—to follow the plough?
‘Uncle, we'll ask her the way—she's a social phenomenon, surely;
‘Which you can quote with effect, next time you bring in your Bill!
‘P'r'aps she has heard of your Bill to Regulate Female Employment—
‘“Women and children,” you know—won't she adore you for that!
‘Yet, if you look at her now, you'll admit she's a capital ploughman:
‘See how she helps it along—see how she handles her team!’
| Dorothy | |