Jack knelt and kissed the snow-white hands Of the lovely ladies three; Oh! who these matters that understands But thinks, "would that I'd been he! " Then he bids them adieu; "Au revoir," they cry. "Take care of yourselves," he exclaims, "good bye!" {018} XIV. Away, like Bonaparte in chase, O'er mount and moor goes Jack; With his trusty sword before his face, And its scabbard behind his back. Away he goes, And follows his nose; No wonder, then, that at close of day, He found himself out In his whereabout;-- "Dash my buttons," he cried, "I have lost my way Before him stretched a lonely vale-- Just the place for robbing the mail Ere that conveyance went by "rail"-- On either side a mount of granite Outfaced indignant star and planet; Its thunder-braving head and shoulders, And threatening crags, and monstrous boulders, Ten times as high as the cliffs at Brighton, Uprearing like a "bumptious" Titan, Very imposing to beholders. Now the red sun went darkly down, More gloomy grew the mountains' frown, And all around waxed deeper brown,-- Jack's visage deeper blue; Said he, "I guess I'm in a fix,"-- Using a phrase of Mr. Slick's,-- "What _on_ earth shall I do?" {019} He wandered about till late at night, At last he made for a distant light; "Here's a gentleman's mansion," thought Jack, "all right." He knocked at the wicket, Crying, "That's the ticket!" When lo! the portal open flew, And a monster came out, Enormously stout And of stature tremendous, with heads for two. Jack was rather alarmed, But the Giant was charmed, He declared with both tongues, the young hero to see: "What a double-tongued speech! But you wo n't overreach _Me_" thought Jack; as the Giant said--"Walk in, to tea." But he saw that to fly Would be quite "all his eye," He could n't, and so it was useless to try; So he bowed, and complied with the monster's "walk in!" With a sort of a kind of hysterical grin. Now this Giant, you know, was a Welshman, _and so_, 'T was by stealth he indulged in each mischievous "lark His name was Ap Morgan, He had a large organ Of "secretiveness," wherefore he killed in the dark. "He was sorry that Jack was benighted," he said, "Might he fenture to peg he'd accept of a ped?" {020} And he then led the way, All smiling and gay, To the couch where his guest might rest his head; And he bade him good night, politely quite, Jack answered--"I wish you a very good night." XV.