Miriam's Lovers

"I love the maiden passing well,"Said Smith; "her figure's neat;You may go far a prettier belleBefore yon chance to meet."

"A devilish pretty girl," said Scott,"She's just as sweet as honey,But then two things she lacks: she's gotNeither good birth nor money."

"She's chic," said White, "and I in herEach day new charms discover;Most truthfully I can averThat, next myself, I love her."

"Somehow the girl my fancy takes,Though why I cannot tell:But there are plenty more," said Raikes,"I like almost as well."

"Few maids there are," said Jones, "whom ISo fervently admire,But I have noticed in her eyeA leopard's tameless fire."

"I want a wife," said Brown, "and sinceI've jilted been by Fanny,To make the faithless creature winceI'll Miriam wed—or Annie."

Said Robinson, "No other maidSuch passion can inspire;A frenzy not to be gainsaid,That fills my veins with fire."

Said Black, "The maiden I adoreAs with a saint's devotionThe sacredest of shrines before,—A still and rapt emotion."

"She's full of wild caprice," said Green,"And strange and fitful fancies,But in her alone of all I've seenA spirit of romance is."

"Ah me! I love her much," sighed Page,"But then a bird so gayWould need a gorgeous golden cage,And ever sing 'pay, pay.'"

"She's of her sex the perfect flower,"Said Harrison, "about herThere's such a strange magnetic powerLife's nothing worth without her."

Guess now, of all who bent the knee,Who finally enchained her?Alas! I can't but fear that heWho least deserved her gained her.