THE MODERN NYMPH'S REPLY TO THE PASSIONATE SHEPHERD.
If times were as when time was young,
And reason ruled each shepherd's tongue,
Thy pretty speeches might me move,
To live with thee, and be thy love.
But times are changed in field and fold,
At shocking prices sheep are sold,
And farmers look exceeding glum,
Foreboding darker days to come.
The weeds do choke the thriftless fields,
No profit now the harvest yields;
Honey is sought, but only gall
Is found, for still the prices fall.
Thy pinks, thy stocks, thy Provence roses,
Are pretty, and I'm fond of posies;
But wages may not long be gotten
When folly's rife, and business rotten.
A man of straw thy master seems,
No grain of sense is in thy dreams,
And my Papa would not approve
Even if I would be thy love.
But, when times mend, sheep-farms succeed,
And all on English mutton feed,
Ask me again, and thou may'st move,
To live with thee, and be thy love.