Page:All quiet along the Potomac and other poems.djvu/310

 304 THE ROSE OF THE RING.

&quot; I feel kind o sober to think all the while That the chaps ridin round with a grin

Would be glad to get out of that life if they could ; But they wouldn t know where to begin.

&quot; The Rose of the Ring looked so happy, you say, As she rode the black horse on the ground ;

And she had on a bracelet and ear-rings that shone, Velvet bodice and skirt spangled round ?

&quot; An her hair hangin down in a tangle of curls Wasn t finer than yours ? No, indeed !

W T hen she smiled as the people applauded her skill, Ridin round at the top of her speed,

&quot;You felt as if tendin the work of the farm Was so dreary and hopeless and slow ;

Washing dishes, and churning, and mending old

coats Seemed so stupid and doleful, I know.

&quot;But if you d been over the dressin -room side, And heard what I did, stand in there,

Where her brute of a husband stood waitin for

her; How he clutched at her long curly hair ;

&quot; How he stamped and he swore with a terrible cry, As he flung her, poor girl ! to the ground,

Because, being weary, she slipped off her horse When she should have leaped up at a bound !

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