The Papers of Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar, Volume V

J>,\PEHs OF ~IrnAllIUU Buo:t--APARTE I.,,nun

Twenty feet "' i<le and thirty long, The chinks well da11b'cl with straw & clay That ncer admits the solar ray; A (•yprus roof and puncheon floor, A four ,.quare window and a door, :"ic:reaking 011 new hitkery hiuges, At which your ,·ery bosom scringrs. . \ heel a barrel and a broom Urac'cl south-cast corner of the room, Another held a cross'd leg'd table A tripo1l, bench and rocking cradle. In the third lay pots and griddles, Th(• fourth cleared out for him that fiddles, \\"hil,-t round the walls in gay festoons :"iw1111g- petticoats and pantaloons. Suc·h is I.he spacious drawing-hall Ju whi<·h was held our lively ball. 'llo11t three o'clock in after noon, An hour unusually soon, .. -\ II the neighboring beaus collected; Some from distance were expected. There were Belch and Tony Grnmbo. \\'ith red faces [mutilated] Corporal Cfrane and Captain S)ligo, Doctor Duucc and justice Bibo, All dandies of the higher class That shared the smiles of every lass. The latter one· is as fair as • Adonis or the Trojan Paris. I will for those who never saw This Io,·ely youth, his picture draw For of the beauties great and small He tops the climax of them all. Then figure to yourself a beau, ,Just six feet long from top to toe \\"ith crooked back and Frozen thin sides And brains as soft as pumpkins insicles A little meager baboon face As tadpole sleek, and thin as plaic·e; His eyes you hardly can discu,·er So far his lll'ows projecting ornr; Between them hangs a bottle nose \\"hich with the flaming jorum glows: \\"ere he a midnight to look at us "~e'cl takt• his snout for igni::: fat'11,;. His spidc>r legs are long and ,.Jim And ('ruuked as u black jack limh. Thev interlock auo,·e his heel,; And work like cogs in trundle wheel,;, So when he moves he hobbles on Like horses foundered on 11cw <·orn. Among the dashing helles. there were. ~liss Kitty Perch as good ns fair, Dorothy ~nap and Peggy \\'ilcl Two lo\'ely girls as e,·er smiled. Tabitha llrass and witldow Jaubl'r Patty Bland and ~lolly Bacl~t•r. Betty Bloum·c and romping Nc>ll,\', And man~• more than I C'oulcl tell ~-c.

But now the,\' li~ht the pi11e torch taper,.,

Yonder come the 11111,;il' mnkers; They :soon 11rrin• in mnn·hinj? luuul

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