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<h4>THE WEE MAN.</h4>
<br/>
A ROMANCE.
<br/><br/>
It was a merry company,
<br/>
And they were just afloat,
<br/>
When lo! a man, of dwarfish span,
<br/>
Came up and hailed the boat.
<br/><br/>
"Good morrow to ye, gentle folks,
<br/>
And will you let me in?
<br/>
A slender space will serve my case,
<br/>
For I am small and thin."
<br/><br/>
They saw he was a dwarfish man,
<br/>
And very small and thin;
<br/>
Not seven such would matter much,
<br/>
And so they took him in.
<br/><br/>
They laughed to see his little hat,
<br/>
With such a narrow brim;
<br/>
They laughed to note his dapper coat,
<br/>
With skirts so scant and trim.
<br/><br/>
But barely had they gone a mile,
<br/>
When, gravely, one and all
<br/>
At once began to think the man
<br/>
Was not so very small:
<br/><br/>
His coat had got a broader skirt,
<br/>
His hat a broader brim;
<br/>
His leg grew stout, and soon plumped out
<br/>
A very proper limb.
<br/><br/>
Still on they went, and as they went,
<br/>
More rough the billows grew,—
<br/>
And rose and fell, a greater swell,
<br/>
And he was swelling too!
<br/><br/>
And lo! where room had been for seven,
<br/>
For six there scarce was space!
<br/>
For five!—for four!—for three!—not more
<br/>
Than two could find a place!
<br/><br/>
There was not even room for one!
<br/>
They crowded by degrees—
<br/>
Ay—closer yet, till elbows met,
<br/>
And knees were jogging knees.
<br/><br/>
"Good sir, you must not sit a-stern,
<br/>
The wave will else come in!"
<br/>
Without a word he gravely stirred,
<br/>
Another seat to win.
<br/><br/>
"Good sir, the boat has lost her trim,
<br/>
You must not sit a-lee!"
<br/>
With smiling face and courteous grace,
<br/>
The middle seat took he.
<br/><br/>
But still, by constant quiet growth,
<br/>
His back became so wide,
<br/>
Each neighbor wight, to left and right,
<br/>
Was thrust against the side.
<br/><br/>
Lord! how they chided with themselves,
<br/>
That they had let him in;
<br/>
To see him grow so monstrous now,
<br/>
That came so small and thin.
<br/><br/>
On every brow a dewdrop stood,
<br/>
They grew so scared and hot,—
<br/>
"I' the name of all that's great and tall,
<br/>
Who are ye, sir, and what?"
<br/><br/>
Loud laughed the Gogmagog, a laugh
<br/>
As loud as giant's roar—
<br/>
"When first I came, my proper name
<br/>
Was Little—now I'm <i>Moore!</i>"
<br/><br/><br/>
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