LINES IN PLEASANT PLACES.
ON THE ICE.
When the sun was shining brightly,
When the world was gleaming whitely,
And Jack Frost held Nature tightly
In a vice,
It was joy supreme, though fleeting,
Fair Amanda to be greeting,
When the country side was meeting
On the ice!
Happy he whom smile the Fates on,
Whom they shower tête-à-têtes on,
How I used to whip her skates on
In a trice!
And, as off we'd skim cross-handed,
Leaving all my rivals stranded,
I was glad, to be quite candid,
On the ice!
How we gave evasive answers,
When they praised our skill as dancers,
And to skate a set of lancers
Would entice;
How we thought them crude and "crocky"
Loving pairs to try and jockey
Into wild delights of hockey
On the ice!
To the figure-skating shilling
Snug inclosure we were willing
To subscribe—'twas cheap but thrilling
At the price:
Yet the busy scandal-riggers
With sarcastic little sniggers
Talked of people "cutting figures"
On the ice!
All my heart, as I would hold her
Little hands in mine, a-smoulder—
'Twas a fact I nearly told her
Once or twice:
But, each time, what put a stopper
On my declaration proper
Was a sweet and timely cropper
On the ice!
Then the thaw came. Oh, the bother!
Oh, the words we had to smother!
Ne'er again we'll find each other
Half so nice:
Now Amanda's always seizing
Opportunities of teasing;
Oh, she wasn't half so "freezing"
On the ice!
Mrs. R. wants to know where that old quotation comes from, so applicable now—
"And Freedom shrieked when Paderewski played!"
Of course Freedom went into the free seats (if any) and shrieked with delight.