"O heaven—I'll dance," and so he tried, and the teases put him through all the absurd paces they knew, till he fell exhausted into a seat.
"That was almost true to nature," they laughed. "You will do, so come along. But don't forget your part. Don't let us see any of the airs of a nobleman or you shall leave us. We'll take you, but if you forget your part we shall certainly leave you," and they dragged him off recklessly.
At the fair, ribbons were flying, bands were playing, lads and lasses were dancing, and farmers were singing:
[[Listen]]
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Bright and buxom lasses, Come, the fair shall now begin, Show your rosy faces And our hearts ye soon shall win. Fleet of foot, and clad with neatness, Come and let the master choose; Sweet of temper, all discreetness, Who a prize like this would lose? |
Done is the bargain if the maid is trusty, blythe and willing; Done is the bargain if she accepts the master's proffered shilling! |
Thus, the farmers who had come to the fair to choose a maid-servant, sang together. The maid-servants were meanwhile singing a song of their own, and everybody was in high feather.
Now to this fair had come two farmers in particular; one being farmer Plunkett, and the other, altogether a handsome fellow, named Lionel, who was the foster-brother of Plunkett. As a matter of fact, he was left in his babyhood on the doorstep of Plunkett's father, who adopted him and brought him up with his own son. The baby had had nothing by which he could be identified, but there was a ring left with him, and the instruction that it was to be shown to the Queen in case the boy should ever find himself in serious trouble when he grew up. Now both these gay farmers had come to secure maid-servants for the year, and Plunkett came up to inspect the girls as they assembled.
"What a clatter! This becomes a serious matter. How on earth is a man to make a choice with such confusion all about him?"