I sit in the shadow of apple-boughs, In the fragrant orchard close, And around me floats the scented air, With its wave-like tidal flows. I close my eyes in a dreamy bliss, And call no king my peer;...
'Tis just three months and eke a day, Since in the meadows, raking hay, On looking up I chanced to see The manor's lord, young Arnold Lee, With a loose hand on the rein, Riding slowly down the lane....
From the door of the homestead the mother looks forth, With a glance half of hope, half of fear, For the clock in the corner now points to the hour When the children she loves should appear....
Now Merdle this day having toss'd with his horns The bears that were pulling so hard at the stocks, And gored every bull that was treading his corns, Had lined all his pockets with "plenty of rocks,"...
"Now Merdle--now Colonel--I know you are waiting. And thinking my talking to eating's a bar, Still hoping, by tasting, my appetite sating, Will give you the license to smoke a cigar. ...
When the clouds in the Western sky Flush red with the setting sun,-- When the veil of twilight falls, And the busy day is done,-- I sit and watch the clouds, With their crimson hues alight,...