For on the shore a small hut loomed up brown,

And in the doorway stood a woman gray;

Whence she had come, or when, none seemed to know,

But Skell, the boatman, named her Gumman Gro.

And Skell would laugh the hearty laugh that springs

Straight from the hearts of men when young and strong,

While with a merry jest at men and things

He sailed his course, and hummed a seaman’s song;

Oft in passing Lone Tree Cove he’d sheer

His boat more close, and shout a word of cheer.