A Spring-time Duet

BY

MARY LESLIE

           1st Maiden. 'Oh, Spring is here, the golden sun                               

                                    Has routed Winter's gloom!'

          2nd Maiden. 'Good gracious! Jane has not begun                              

                                    To scrub the dining-room!'

           1st Maiden. 'And now the first sweet buds appear,                               

                                   Symbolic of new hope.'

          2nd Maiden. 'I didn't say 'carbolic,' dear,                               

                                   I want the yellow soap.'

A seasonable chant, possibly useful for recitation purposes.

                1st Maiden. 'Like nectar is the morning dew,                               

                         Its purity divine

                           Refreshes all the earth anew.'

 2nd Maiden. 'Ah! here's the turpentine.'

 1st Maiden. 'And crystal webs shine bright, as though                               

                            Spun on some fairy loom.'

2nd Maiden. 'A spider's web? I didn't know;                                                

                          I'll run and fetch the broom!'

1st Maiden. 'Blooms Nature scatters, fresh and free,                               

                                     From out her treasure-house.'

2nd Maiden. 'I'll dust this cupboard thoroughly.'

Both together. 'Oh, horrors! There's a mouse!'