The Downing legends : Stories in Rhyme The witch of Shiloh, the last of the Wampanoags, the gentle earl, the enchanted voyage |
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| 18. | XVIII |
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 | The Downing legends : Stories in Rhyme |  |
XVIII
Such courtesy did much surprise
A Downing reared in rustic guise.
He never saw the like before,
Nor heard thereof in days of yore.
A Downing reared in rustic guise.
He never saw the like before,
Nor heard thereof in days of yore.
176
So, partly awed, yet more perplexed
And ill at ease, and therefore vexed,
He glumly said, “My christian brother,
Your meaning's dark, an' seems to me
We'd sooner understand each other
If we should let the bussing be.
Dessay there's fun in scrapes an' kisses
To them that's broughten up to pass
Their extry hours, like city misses,
A-smirkin 'fore a lookin-glass.
But Goodness didn't light our tapers
In deestricks given to monkey-capers,
An' we admire these fancy manners
As much as Satan does hosanners.
And ill at ease, and therefore vexed,
He glumly said, “My christian brother,
Your meaning's dark, an' seems to me
We'd sooner understand each other
If we should let the bussing be.
Dessay there's fun in scrapes an' kisses
To them that's broughten up to pass
Their extry hours, like city misses,
A-smirkin 'fore a lookin-glass.
But Goodness didn't light our tapers
In deestricks given to monkey-capers,
An' we admire these fancy manners
As much as Satan does hosanners.
“So, waivin' furder bows an' curchies,
Explain with no uncertain sound
Whether your ark a fort or church is
An' what you mean by droppin' round.
But while you're thinkin' up your answer
I'll briefly state that I'm a man, sir,
Disposed to be almighty tender
About the p'int of no-surrender.”
Explain with no uncertain sound
Whether your ark a fort or church is
An' what you mean by droppin' round.
But while you're thinkin' up your answer
I'll briefly state that I'm a man, sir,
Disposed to be almighty tender
About the p'int of no-surrender.”
| The Downing legends : Stories in Rhyme | |