Poem by Eugene Field

Mysterious Doings

As once I rambled in the woods
  I chanced to spy amid the brake
A huntsman ride his way beside
  A fair and passing tranquil lake;
Though velvet bucks sped here and there,
  He let them scamper through the green—
Not one smote he, but lustily
  He blew his horn—what could it mean?

As on I strolled beside that lake,
  A pretty maid I chanced to see
Fishing away for finny prey,
  Yet not a single one caught she;
All round her boat the fishes leapt
  And gambolled to their hearts' content,
Yet never a thing did the maid but sing—
  I wonder what on earth it meant.

As later yet I roamed my way,
  A lovely steed neighed loud and long,
And an empty boat sped all afloat
  Where sang a fishermaid her song;
All underneath the prudent shade,
  Which yonder kindly willows threw,
Together strayed a youth and maid—
  I can't explain it all, can you?

1. After Reading Trollope's History of Florence
2. The Two Coffins
3. The Ballad of the Taylor Pup
4. Hugo's “Pool in the Forest”
5. Two Valentines

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