“This Dance it will no further go!”
“Why say you thus, good lady?”
“John Sanderson will not come to!”
“Fie, John! the Cushion’s ready:”
“He must come to, he shall come to,
’Tis Mirth’s right throne pleasance;
How dear the scene, in Nature’s view
To Lovers in a ‘Cushion Dance!’”
“Ho! princum prancum!”—Love is blest,
Both Joan and John submit;
Friends smiling gather round and rest.
And sweethearts closely sit;—
Their feet and spirits languid grown,
Eyes, bright in silence, glance
Like suns on seeds of beauty sown,
And nourish’d in the “Cushion Dance.”
In times to come, when older we
Have children round our knees;
How will our hearts rejoice to see
Their lips and eyes at ease.
Talk ye of Swiss in valley-streams,
Of joyous pairs in France;
None of their hopes-delighting dreams
Are equal to the “Cushion Dance.”
’Twas here my Maiden’s love I drew
By the hushing of her bosom;
She knelt, her mouth and press were true,
And sweet as rose’s blossom:—
E’er since, though onward we to glory,
And cares our lives enhance,
Reflection dearly tells the “story”—
Hail!—hail!—thou “happy Cushion Dance.”
J. R. Prior.
Islington.
ST. SEPULCHRE’S BELL.
For the Table Book.
On the right-hand side of the altar of St. Sepulchre’s church is a board, with a list of charitable donations and gifts, containing the following item:—