Put his arm round her waist—gave ten kisses at laste—
“Oh,” says he, “you’re my Molly Malone, my own!
Oh,” says he, “you’re my Molly Malone.”
And the widow they all thought so shy, my eye!
Ne’er thought of a simper or sigh, for why?
“But, Lucius,” says she, “since you’ve now made so free,
You may marry your Mary Malone, ohone!
You may marry your Mary Malone.”
Charles Lever.
Winthrop Mackworth Praed belongs to the small group of Londoners which also included Calverley and Locker-Lampson. At least one great critic considers Praed the greatest of this band, and so far as metric skill and finished execution are concerned, he may well be called so. Also, his taste is impeccable, and his society verse ranks among the best.