Laura
The moment his leave he had taken,
She flew from the parlor in haste,
With her nerves like an aspen quite shaken;
Yet the secret was much to her taste.
" Oh! what is the matter, my dear? "
Cried the mother, all pale with affright;
And Laura began to look queer,
And to stammer, while blushing outright: —
" Frank asked me — I did not expect it —
The question! I thought I should faint!
Such an offer! — oh! can I reject it?
'Tis enough to discourage a saint.
How shall I determine his case?
'Tis true that I love him too well;
But they say I've a beautiful face,
And you know I'm considered a belle.
" Besides, there are forty or more
With whom it is pleasant to flirt;
And they all still profess to adore, —
Would kiss e'en the hem of my skirt.
I'm alarmed at the hazard I run;
So distracted, I hardly can speak:
I'll tell him I thought him in fun
When he calls for an answer next week.
" But I'm fearful that never will do:
His manner was frank and sincere:
An answer that's candid is due;
And yet it will cost me a tear.
Let me think — ah! I think I'll say " No! "
With Harry I love to play chess;
Yet, my hand were I now to bestow,
A fopling it never should bless.
" As to Frank, I will treat him the same,
And perhaps I will wed him at last.
But, when I consider how tame
Are the married, I'm stricken aghast,
And conclude in the girlhood of life
That I'll still be a butterfly gay:
When I choose, I will then be a wife;
Yet I might marry dozens to-day. "
And thus, with a toss of her head,
She made up her mind in a hurry.
Frank called, and began to look red;
Yet Laura, although in a flurry,
Received him, of course, with a smile;
Then talked of the last evening's rout:
But Frank, after listening awhile,
Resolved to remove the last doubt.
But still she persisted in talking
Of the rout, and the fashions, and dance;
While Frank, as he rose to be walking,
Still lingered, half lost in a trance;
When, wreathing her lip to say " No! "
Somehow, with a charming address,
She softened the word in its flow,
And, lisping, replied to him, " Yes! "
She flew from the parlor in haste,
With her nerves like an aspen quite shaken;
Yet the secret was much to her taste.
" Oh! what is the matter, my dear? "
Cried the mother, all pale with affright;
And Laura began to look queer,
And to stammer, while blushing outright: —
" Frank asked me — I did not expect it —
The question! I thought I should faint!
Such an offer! — oh! can I reject it?
'Tis enough to discourage a saint.
How shall I determine his case?
'Tis true that I love him too well;
But they say I've a beautiful face,
And you know I'm considered a belle.
" Besides, there are forty or more
With whom it is pleasant to flirt;
And they all still profess to adore, —
Would kiss e'en the hem of my skirt.
I'm alarmed at the hazard I run;
So distracted, I hardly can speak:
I'll tell him I thought him in fun
When he calls for an answer next week.
" But I'm fearful that never will do:
His manner was frank and sincere:
An answer that's candid is due;
And yet it will cost me a tear.
Let me think — ah! I think I'll say " No! "
With Harry I love to play chess;
Yet, my hand were I now to bestow,
A fopling it never should bless.
" As to Frank, I will treat him the same,
And perhaps I will wed him at last.
But, when I consider how tame
Are the married, I'm stricken aghast,
And conclude in the girlhood of life
That I'll still be a butterfly gay:
When I choose, I will then be a wife;
Yet I might marry dozens to-day. "
And thus, with a toss of her head,
She made up her mind in a hurry.
Frank called, and began to look red;
Yet Laura, although in a flurry,
Received him, of course, with a smile;
Then talked of the last evening's rout:
But Frank, after listening awhile,
Resolved to remove the last doubt.
But still she persisted in talking
Of the rout, and the fashions, and dance;
While Frank, as he rose to be walking,
Still lingered, half lost in a trance;
When, wreathing her lip to say " No! "
Somehow, with a charming address,
She softened the word in its flow,
And, lisping, replied to him, " Yes! "
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