A Military Appointment (Scherzando)
“So back you have come from the town, Nan, dear!
And have you seen him there, or near—
That soldier of mine—
Who long since promised to meet me here?”
“—O yes, Nell: from the town I come,
And have seen your lover on sick-leave home—
That soldier of yours—
Who swore to meet you, or Strike-him-dumb;
“But has kept himself of late away;
Yet,—in short, he’s coming, I heard him say—
That lover of yours—
To this very spot on this very day.”
“—Then I’ll wait, I’ll wait, through wet or dry!
I’ll give him a goblet brimming high—
This lover of mine—
And not of complaint one word or sigh!”
“—Nell, him I have chanced so much to see,
That—he has grown the lover of me!—
That lover of yours—
And it’s here our meeting is planned to be.”