She is the fairest young lady as ever was seen.
I’ll wash her in milk,
And I’ll clothe her in silk,
And I’ll write down her name
With a gold pen and ink.’”
Then came what Bess called “them that laughed,” who said—
“‘O Sally, O Sally, your true love is dead,
He sent you a letter to turn round your head.’”
“I like that,” remarked Bess. “The words are pretty. ‘Green gravel, green gravel,’ but I shouldn’t like to be washed in milk, soap and water are bad enough, but I should like letters to be written with a pen of gold. They sound as if they ought to be letters all about holidays or Christmas presents; leastways, they never ought to be rude or disagreeable, or have anything to do with lessons.’”
“Yes,” agreed Harry, “written only for fun, and because everybody may do as they like.”