Page:All quiet along the Potomac and other poems.djvu/101

Rh Above his shapely palm I bent, And told him, "Truly he should know Who loved him best, at Christmas-time, Beneath the magic mistletoe;

For just when nine o'clock should strike A dark- eyed girl should surely stand Beneath the Christmas bough, and bear A spray of holly in her hand."

And then, as Madge's friend would do, I dressed at Christmas-time her hair, And told her that a holly-wreath Would make her fairness look more fair.

I twined its coral skilfully Amid her braided jetty crown, And bid her hold a little spray To foil her dress of golden brown.

Just when the hour of nine was nigh, With earnest speech and movement slow, I walked across the room with her, And stopped beneath the mistletoe.

All right! I knew one earnest glance Would knit the broken bond between. Ah, Carl, my friend, you ll never know What witches walk All-Hallow E'en.