To take a stroll, where the cold ones are
Who in lanes, not of trees but of fetters11. Fetter-lane is clearly alluded to by the poet. It is believed to be the bailiffs’ quarter., dwell.
But wait until night upsets its ink
On the earth, on the sea, and all over the sky,
And then I’ll go to the wide world’s brink
With the girl I love, without feeling shy.
Oh, then, may it night for ever be!
The owl! the owl! the owl! is the bird for me!
But you turn aside! Ah! did you know,
What by searching the office you’d plainly see,