Worldly Wise

IT was the boatman Ronsalee,
And he sailed through the mists so white;
And two little ladies sat at his knee,
With their two little heads so bright;
And so they sailed and sailed — all three —
On the golden coast o’ the night.

Young Ronsalee had a handsome face,
And his great beard made him brown ;
And the two little ladies in girlish grace
They kept their eyelids down,—
The one in her silken veil of lace,
And the one in her woolsey gown.

For one little lady lived in the wood,
Like a flower that hides from the day;
Her name was Jenny, — they called her the good.
And the name o’ the other was May ;
And her palace windows looked on the flood,
Where they softly sailed away.

Long time the balance even stood
With our Ronsalee that day;
But what was a little house in the wood
To a palace grand and gay ?
So he gave his heart to Jenny, the good,
And his hand he gave to May.