304 THE ROSE OF THE RING.
" I feel kind o sober to think all the while That the chaps ridin round with a grin
Would be glad to get out of that life if they could ; But they wouldn t know where to begin.
" The Rose of the Ring looked so happy, you say, As she rode the black horse on the ground ;
And she had on a bracelet and ear-rings that shone, Velvet bodice and skirt spangled round ?
" An her hair hangin down in a tangle of curls Wasn t finer than yours ? No, indeed !
W T hen she smiled as the people applauded her skill, Ridin round at the top of her speed,
"You felt as if tendin the work of the farm Was so dreary and hopeless and slow ;
Washing dishes, and churning, and mending old
coats Seemed so stupid and doleful, I know.
"But if you d been over the dressin -room side, And heard what I did, stand in there,
Where her brute of a husband stood waitin for
her; How he clutched at her long curly hair ;
" How he stamped and he swore with a terrible cry, As he flung her, poor girl ! to the ground,
Because, being weary, she slipped off her horse When she should have leaped up at a bound !
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