Silently shining, save where, now and then,
The Alligator glided from the bank,
Warned by the chill of evening, or the girls
With tinkling bangles, and the ringing laugh
Of youth, and happiness, and unrestraint,
In coming down for water, scared away
The timid monster of two elements.
Once, as they halted in an ancient grove,
Set by some hospitable hand, of old,
And consecrate to travellers, now too near