The Old Guernsey Market Woman.
Companion Verses to the Engraving of Le Vier Marchi de Guernesey, by John Sullivan
'Tis the place so quaint and old,
Once again my eyes behold;
Ah ! so faithfully depicted is this record of the past;
There's the spot where I did sit,
When I used to busy knit, -
To the weird old witch tales, told by gossips, - listening aghast.
Life hath roses, life hath thorns;
And on busy market morns,
Little cared we when we sold out readily our garden wares;
Sabots on the pavé clattered;
And in patois queer we chattered;
Costumes, bonnets quaint, all bobbing, like in ancient Norman fairs.
How my thoughts do swiftly flow
Back to fifty years ago;
How confused remembrances now crowd my brain in dizzy whirl:
'Neath the awning o'er my stall,
Fairest, bravest of them all,
Came a fisher-lad, each even', courting me, a bonny girl.
Tender memories arise,
Blurring my poor dim old eyes;
Ah! that dear old market-place has passed away for evermore;
And I too shall soon depart,
For my weary waiting heart,
Yearns to meet my good old fisherman on Heaven's brighter shore.
Charles Le Sueur
15, Charing Cross, St. Helier,
Jersey, June 11th, 1890.