A Midsummer-Eve Charm
At eve last midsummer no sleep I sought,
But to the field a bag of hemp-seed brought,
I scatter’d round the seed on ev’ry side,
And three times in a trembling accent cried,
This hemp-seed with my virgin hand I sow,
Who shall my true-love be, the crop shall mow.
I straight look’d back, and if my eyes speak truth,
With his keen scythe behind me came the youth.
Gay, The Shepherd’s Week: Thursday, or The Spell.