So  this  is  where  Nelly  Quine  was  livin'
For  a  housemaid  with  them.     I    don't    know   were   they

givin'
High  wages  or  not ;  but  it  was  a  sort  of  a  place
That  was  very  grand,  for  Manx  at  laste —
The  people  was  lookin'  up  to  it  uncommon —
And  the  misthress,  you  know,  an  Englishwoman —
And  a  hape  of  sarvints,  and  a  sort  of  a  style
With  them  altogether :  and  the  best  part  of  a  mile
Of  plantin'  and  that ;  and  a  gardener  (Scotch)
And  a  butler  with  a  gool  watch —
And  bulls,  and  bosses,  and  a  little  laddy
With  buttons  runnin'  all  over  his  body —
Style,  you  know — his  name  was  Kelly.
So  all  that  summer  Tonmiy  and  Nelly
Was  meetin'  in  the  meadows  there ;
But  still,  for  all,  he  didn'  dare
To  ax  her  would  she  love  him  a  bit.
Only  they'd  linger  a  little,  and  sit
Till  the  bell  'd  be  out.     And  once  she  stayed
So  long,  you  know,  that  she  felt  afraid

1  By.         3  Judges.         »  Clerk  of  the  Rolls,  a  Manx  official.
T


274  TOMMY  BIG-EYES

To  go  in  at  all ;  and  cried  and  cried  ;

Aye,  and  wouldn'  be  pacified,

And  wouldn'  spake  to  him.     And  Tommy  said

He  was  very  sorry — but  she  turned  and  fled

Like  a  pigeon  (you  know  she  could  run  rather  fast)

And  away  with  her  to  the  Ballaglass.
But  when  the  winter  weather  come,
Mrs.  Moore  was  keepin*  the  sarvints  at  home,
And  a  surt  of  a  praychin',  just  to  shuit
Their  hours,  and  Fm  tould  it's  well  she  could  do 't —
For  the  Captain  and  the  son,  ye  see.
