Page 17 - Poetry-Romance

Something darts into the flashing wave, and disappears beneath,
While in strangely altered accents, “Oh, my teeth!” says she, “my teeth!”
Then as she is wildly leaning, gazing downward in despair,
One mad breeze has snatched her bonnet, and another has her hair.
It all happened in a moment: in the ocean sink the pearls,
And far off upon the water float the bonnet and the curls.
And could that be Arabella, the pale ghost that shrieking fled?—
All below, a lovely woman, but above, a spectral head!
Something sadder than seasickness now disturbed the maiden’s breast,
And it wasn’t her lost tresses that had left her so distressed.
Brown was busy with his fishing, and just then he had a bite;
The sharp line it cut his fingers, but he pulled with all his might.
“Help!” he shouted. ‘Twas a monster, but at last it flopping lay
In the yacht, just at the moment they were getting under way.
“Now what’s up?” says Brown. “The anchor—and a big fish on your line:
Don’t you know? Why, Arabella gave her salt tears to the brine,
And her hair-pins to the sculpins, and, the oddest thing of all,
What should fall into the water but her thundering water-fall!”
Much amazed was Brown to hear it (though the worst had not been said),
When up spoke the jovial skipper, “Now let’s put for Porpoise Head;
There we’ll land and have our chowder; we have fish enough,” says he.
“First the locks are to be rescued; we will run then for the quay.

“Steer for yonder bobbing buoy!” It was the chignon that he meant.
Soon the yacht was laid alongside; out from her a paddle went.
Vastly pleased were all to see it, and indeed they had been dull
Not to smile at woman’s tresses dripping from The Mermaid’s scull.

Then they made for Porpoise Landing. In the cabin, Birch, the while,
Pleaded fondly with his lady: “Dearest, let me see you smile:
Here’s your beautiful new bonnet, and your very wavy hair.”
But she said, “Oh, what’s a bonnet? and, oh, Colonel! what is hair?”
From her interesting features then her handkerchief she took,
Opened wide those lovely lips of hers, and hoarsely whispered, “Look!”
All that dazzling row had vanished! Birch’s blood within him froze;
But he quickly said, “I love you—love you still, in spite of those!”
“But you do not, oh! you do not, see the point, dear Colonel, yet:
Full five weeks it took my dentist to get up that splendid set;
And, alas! I’ve been and lost ‘em where you can’t go down and search,
And how can a woman give her hand—without her teeth—in church?

~ 15 ~