"Haw!" exclaimed the Captain, "very chaste! Doocid delicate!"
Sir Jasper bowed and continued:
"Pant, pant my heart, yet in thy panting ne'er
Let Doubt steal in to slay thee with despair;
But till Love grant
All heart doth want
Pant!"
"Gad!" said the Marquis, "you're doing a dem'd lot o' panting, Jasper!"
"I vow 'tis quaintly mournful!" nodded Sir Benjamin. "'Tis polished and passionate!"
Again Sir Jasper bowed, and continued:
"Sob, sob my soul, sobs soul——"
"Hold hard, Denholm!" quoth Alvaston. "There's too many sobs f'r sense. I don't object t' you groaning, I pass y'r pants, but you're getting y'r soul damnably mixed wi' y'r sobs."
"Nay, 'tis a cry o' the soul, Alvaston," sighed Sir Jasper, "a very heart-throb, faith. Listen!"
"Sob, sob my soul sobs soulful night and day
Till she in mercy shall thy pain allay
Till all she rob
And for thee throb
Sob!"