Then Tom Pemberthy said, drawing his hand across his tear-dimmed eyes: "Us'll miss ur simple wa-ays, sure 'nuff!"
But it was given to "Clacking Joe" to speak the final words ere they turned their faces homewards.
"'Twas awnly right that we laid ur 'longside o' Ben! When ur was a little chile ur shrimped with 'n! an' when ur was a gert maiden ur walked out with 'n! Please God, ur'll be the furrst tu spake tu 'n—cum the aftermath!"
A seasonable chant, possibly useful for recitation purposes.
A Spring-time Duet
BY
Mary Leslie
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SPRING CLEANING.
| 1st Maiden. "Oh, Spring is here, the golden sun
Has routed Winter's gloom!"
2nd Maiden. "Good gracious! Jane has not begun
To scrub the dining-room!"
1st Maiden. "And now the first sweet buds appear,
Symbolic of new hope."
2nd Maiden. "I didn't say 'carbolic,' dear,
I want the yellow soap."
1st Maiden. "Like nectar is the morning dew,
Its purity divine
Refreshes all the earth anew."
2nd Maiden. "Ah! here's the turpentine."
1st Maiden. "And crystal webs shine bright, as though
Spun on some fairy loom."
2nd Maiden. "A spider's web? I didn't know;
I'll run and fetch the broom!"
1st Maiden. "Blooms Nature scatters, fresh and free,
From out her treasure-house."
2nd Maiden. "I'll dust this cupboard thoroughly."
Both together. "Oh, horrors! There's a mouse!"
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