Page:Poems - Southey (1799) volume 2.djvu/211

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GRANDMOTHER.Ugly enough poor soul!At ten yards distance you could hardly tellIf it were man or woman, for her voiceWas rough as our old mastiff's, and she woreA man's old coat and hat,—and then her face!There was a merry story told of her,How when the press-gang came to take her husbandAs they were both in bed, she heard them coming,Drest John up in her night-cap, and herselfPut on his clothes and went before the Captain.JANE.And so they prest a woman!GRANDMOTHER.'Twas a trickShe dearly loved to tell, and all the countrySoon knew the jest, for she was used to travelFor miles around. All weathers and all hoursShe crossed the hill, as hardy as her beasts,Bearing the wind and rain and winter frosts,
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