In couples multitudinous assemble,

Forming the drollest group that ever trod

Fair Islingtonian plains. Male after male,

Dog after dog succeeding, husbands, wives,

Fathers and mothers, brothers, sisters, friends,

And pretty little boys and girls. Around,

Across, along the gardens’ shrubby maze

They walk, they sit, they stand. What crowds press on,

Eager to mount the stairs, eager to catch

First vacant bench, or chair in long room plac’d.