forgot him somehow -- For he thought -- there were other lads -- he was fear'd to look at me now. VIII. Hard was the frost in the field, we were married o' Christmas day, Married among the red berries, an' all as merry as May -- Those were the pleasant times, my house an' my man were my pride, We seem'd like ships i' the Channel a-sailing with wind an' tide. IX. But work was scant in the Isle, tho' he tried the villages round, So Harry went over the Solent to see if work could be found; An' he wrote 'I ha' six weeks' work, little wife, so far as I know; I'll come for an hour to-morrow, an' kiss you before I go.' X. So I set to righting the house, for wasn't he coming that day? An' I hit on an old deal-box that was pasted in a corner away, It was full of old odds an' ends, an' a letter along wi' the rest, I had better ha' put my naked hand in a hornets' nest. XI. 'Sweetheart' -- this was the letter -- this was the letter I read -- 'You promised to find me work near you, an' I wish I was dead -- Didn't you kiss me an' promise? you haven't done it, my lad, An' I almost died o' your going away, an' I wish that I had.' XII. I too wish that I had -- in the pleasant times that