When their elders look sidewise on folly to wink—
’Tis a gap in the fences that leads to the clover,
And the dignified ruling of prudence is over.
They cut up—that’s nothing, they carried it on
Till Malindy, ashamed of the things that were done,
Took the bachelor out for a short, quiet walk
And lectured him soundly on orderly talk
And then he behaved—’tis a marvelous thing
What order from chaos a woman can bring;
But Malindy, of course, had a very wise head