---

Ada Cambridge - Aunt Dorothy`s Lecture
Work rating: Medium

Come, go and practise—get your work— 
    Do something, Nelly, pray. 
I hate to see you moon about 
    In this uncertain way! 
Why do you look so vacant, child? 
    I fear you must be ill. 
Surely you are not thinking of 
    That Captain Cameron still? 

Ah, yes—I fear`d so! You may blush; 
    I blush for you, my dear; 
And it is scarce a week ago 
    Since Gerald brought him here— 
The day he fell in the hunting-field, 
    And his pretty horse was lamed. 
O child—and with your bringing up! 
    You ought to be ashamed. 

Last night I saw you watching him, 
    And you danced with him thrice; 
You turn`d quite red when he spoke to you— 
    Such manners are not nice. 
You, Nelly Gray, should not be seen 
    (I don`t wish to be harsh) 
Running wild, like the servant-girls, 
    For a red coat and moustache. 

Not that he isn`t a gentleman 
    From spur to shako-brim— 
I know good blood when I see it—yes, 
    I will say that for him. 
He does not swagger, nor lisp, nor flirt— 
    Has none of those vulgar ways; 
And he does not talk like a stable-boy, 
    As the fashion is nowadays. 

In fact, I admire him very much— 
    My dear, you need not fret— 
I do; he`s very different from 
    The rest of Gerald`s set. 
He`s very handsome, certainly— 
    I don`t mind saying so. 
He reminds me a bit of your uncle, when 
    I met him long ago. 

He had a silky, long moustache 
    Of just that golden shade; 
And broad Greek brows, with a tint of bronze, 
    That Indian suns had made. 
He was a soldier, too, you know— 
    As big and strong and tall: 
He`d just come home when I saw him first 
    At Lady Talbot`s ball. 

I remember when we were introduced; 
    By stealth I look`d him o`er— 
Such haughty, indolent, gentle eyes, 
    I never saw before! 
I felt so strange when he look`d at me; 
    I cannot tell you why— 
But I seem`d to feel he was mine, to keep 
    And love, till I should die. 

`Twas very odd—in a moment, too, 
    Before I knew his name! 
But, Nelly—O how the world was changed 
    And brighten`d, when he came! 
I was so restless all that night;— 
    I did not want to see, 
I felt where he moved about the room 
    While he was away from me. 

I was jealous—I could not help it, 
    Although I struggled hard— 
Of the other girls, whose favour`d names 
    Were written on his card; 
They were so rich, and I was poor; 
    They were so grandly dress`d, 
And I so dowdy; and yet, and yet, 
    I thought he liked me best. 

The last long hour he danced with them, 
    And oh I miss`d him so! 
And then I heard our carriage call`d, 
    And I knew that I must go. 
A big lump rose up in my throat 
    That I could hardly bear; 
But, passing through the vestibule, 
    I saw him standing there. 

I knew not where he came from, 
    But I felt no surprise 
When he look`d down from his stately height 
    With his grave and quiet eyes, 
And held his hand for a mute good-night 
    That said all words could say;— 
Ah, love! he made me happy then 
    For ever and for aye. 

Well, well,—but this is nonsense; 
    How I am running on!— 
His golden hair grew thin and grey, 
    And now he`s dead and gone. 
There, go and dress for dinner, child; 
    It`s getting late, you see; 
And—perhaps I`ll ask young Cameron 
    If he`ll come in to tea.
Source
The script ran 0.001 seconds.