Page:Carroll - Rhyme and Reason.djvu/220

204 And here one offered to a thirsty fair
 * (His words half-drowned amid those thunders tuneful)

Some frozen viand (there were many there),
 * A tooth-ache in each spoonful.

There comes a happy pause, for human strength
 * Will not endure to dance without cessation;

And every one must reach the point at length
 * Of absolute prostration.

At such a moment ladies learn to give,
 * To partners who would urge them over-much,

A flat and yet decided negative–
 * Photographers love such.

There comes a welcome summons–hope revives,
 * And fading eyes grow bright, and pulses quicken:

Incessant pop the corks, and busy knives
 * Dispense the tongue and chicken.

Flushed with new life, the crowd flows back again:
 * And all is tangled talk and mazy motion–

Much like a waving field of golden grain,
 * Or a tempestuous ocean.