Her ’prentice lover soothes his amorous pain;—
There oft, in well-trimmed wherry, glide along
Smart beaux and giggling belles, a glittering throng:
Smells the tarr’d rope—with undulation fine
Flaps the loose sail—the silken awnings shine;
“Shoot we the bridge!” the venturous boatmen cry;
“Shoot we the bridge!” the exulting fare[[246]] reply.
—Down the steep fall the headlong waters go,
Curls the white foam, the breakers roar below.
The veering helm the dexterous steersman stops,