EARLY DAYS
Then Father’d weigh the baby, and declare we all were grown;
Or he’d want the dimples counted, an’ the last new freckles shown.
While close we’d cling about him, an’ [1]fossick in his coat—
“[2]Lollies for the kiddies”, always came in Father’s boat.
Next, he’d toss the parcel Mother always caught:
Something tasty out o’ Town, down for supper brought.
Hiss! Splut! Splutter!....Tending it in turn,
You can guess us children never let that cooking burn!
Meanwhile, the grown-ups ’ud be carrying in the swags;
There’d be diving into bundles, an’ dipping into bags..
Matches: molasses: cotton, and salt an’ such—
Puzzled me how Town got on, when the Bay had took so much?
An’, all the while, they’d tell us tales—what the timber brought,
Town-news, war-news, an’ what vessels lay in port;
An’, Oh! the people, an’ places, an’ sights an’ all, they’d name—
How big! how wonderful an’ strange!—how full the world became!
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