Bret Harte

“ For turning Fitz-William away from her door
⁠Was that he was still poorer than she.
Yet why worldly wisdom was so cruel then
⁠And perfectly proper to-day
I am quite at a loss to conceive,—but my pen
⁠Is digressing. They drove him away.
Yon bracket supported the light she would trim
⁠Each night to attract by its gleam,
Moth-like, her Fitz-William, who fondly would swim
⁠To her side—seven miles and up-stream. ”

“ He made some repairs,—for 'tis proper to state
⁠That the house was exceedingly old.
His name was McCorkle—now, while there is naught
⁠To suggest of Fitz-William in that,
You'll remember, if living, our Fitz-William ought
⁠To have grown somewhat grayer and fat. ”

“ Was compared to that staple,—yet as to the facts
⁠There is no witness willing to swear.
Yet here she would sit, by that window reserved
⁠For her vines—like a "bower of bloom,"
You'll remark I am quoting—the fact I've observed
⁠Is that plants attract flies to the room. ”