Chapter XVIII: Part I

In a fair village on the English coast
There dwelt a lad--they called him Hunky Sam.
He was but young--three years, or may be four,
But manly for his age; his appetite
For bulls'-eyes, "coker"-nuts, and such light fare
Was something awful, even for a boy;
But better far than even coker-nuts,
He loved a maiden of surpassing grace--
Of humble parentage, but very fair,
Whose name euphonious was Susan Ann.
The parents of these twain were fisher-folk
Of low degree, but honest to a fault.
They would not steal the veriest pin, unless
They were quite certain they would not be caught.
Now Hunky's love for peerless Susan Ann
Was felt by her, and given back to Hunk;
And as the twain upon the yellow sands
Would play, young Sam would say, "Now let us be,
As grown-up folks, and we'll pretend we are
A wedded pair, and I will be a man,
And you, dear Susan Ann, my little wife;
And you, go sit within yon gloomy cave,
Which we will make believe to be our house,
And I'll come staggering in like daddy does,
And you can belt me on my flaxen head
With this small stick, which we will call a broom--
For that's the way my dad and mammy do."
And so they played upon the seashore sand
Till Susan Ann had got the thing down fine.
And time sped on, and Sam and Susan Ann
Were married, and the twain became one flesh.