I

Hush, hush! tread softly! hush, hush, my dear!

      All the house is asleep, but we know very well

That the jealous, the jealous old bald-pate may hear,

      Tho' you 've padded his night-cap—O sweet Isabel!

            Tho' your feet are more light than a Faery's feet,

            Who dances on bubbles where brooklets meet,—

Hush, hush! soft tiptoe! hush, hush, my dear!

For less than a nothing the jealous can hear.