And Mag and her raw-boned Harry, lived as loving couples do;
But, as their homes were childless, very natural-like it fell
That these kind and worthy people thought the world of little Nell.
Many a time they kept her whole days ’gainst her mother’s will,
First in the hut by the river[81], then in the hut by the hill[82].
Once in the chill November, when the slender moon[83] hung low,
And the barren hill tops yonder[84] were clad in a gauze of snow;
Kate with a gleam of mischief in her bright and twinkling eye,
Started across the river[85] to the hut of Joe, hard by;
And Roderick sat by the window, watching her out of sight,