"And then we must get paternal consent,
Or an unblest match may vex ye"—
"Her father is dead; I fetched him away.
In the midst of his goose, last Michaelmas day—
He died of an apoplexy.
XXIII
"His daughter is fair, and an only heir—
With her I long to tether—
He has left her his hell, and all that he had;
The estates are contiguous, and I shall be mad,
'Till we lay our two Hells together."
XXIV
"But how do you know the fair maid's mind?"—
Quoth he, "Her loss was but recent;
And I could not speak my mind you know,
Just when I was fetching her father below—
It would have been hardly decent.
XXV
"But a leer from her eye, where Cupids lie,
Of love gave proof apparent;
And, from something she dropp'd, I shrewdly ween'd,
In her heart she judged, that a living Fiend
Was better than a dead Parent.
XXVI
"But the time is short; and suitors may come,
While I stand here reporting;
Then make your son a bit of a Beau,
And give me your blessing, before I go
To the other world a courting."