Over the fence－1
Strawberries－grow－
Over the fence－
I could climb－if I tried, I know－
Berries are nice!
But－if I stained my Apron－6
God would certainly scold!
Oh, dear,－I guess if He were a Boy－
He'd－climb－if He could!
Strawberries－grow－
Over the fence－
I could climb－if I tried, I know－
Berries are nice!
But－if I stained my Apron－6
God would certainly scold!
Oh, dear,－I guess if He were a Boy－
He'd－climb－if He could!
(F.271/J.251)
[1] fence:: a hedge or wall, of a church.
[2] Strawberries:: strawberry girls. grow:: to become mature, from girl to woman.
[3] fence:: a barrier of body and mind.
[5] Berries:: the berries in strawberry girls' baskets; also alluding to their bodies.
[6] Apron:: the apron of an altar boy, hinted by the God in line seven and Boy in line eight. To stain a working apron won't be scolded.
[8] Boy:: a boy altar server, an assistant in a religious service.
[9] if He could:: a hint on something God won't do, to envy young girls.
I fell in love with at first fight, tho' then she was only a Welch Strawberry Girl, running to Covent Garden, with her basket on her head, and her cheeks as red as her own fruit, but since I've made her a gentlewoman, she's so delicate. ─ The Dramatic Works of John O'Keeffe, Esq. (1798)
Mr. Rogers also contributed several other excellent pictures to the Exhibition. The Cupid and Psyche, the Sleeping Girl, and Strawberry Girl. ─ The Commemoration of Reynolds (1814)
The little strawberry girl became the adored mistress of the mansion. ─ The New-York Mirror (1827)
There were some thirty or forty imitations of Reynolds' Strawberry Girl. ─ The Metropolitan Magazine (1834)
THE STRAWBERRY GIRL－A TALE. 'Strawberries－fine ripe straw-ber-ries!' Such is the cry that steals in long cadence down London streets during June an part of July; making the mouths of little errand-boys water, as the fragrant-scented basket passes them, and breaking upon the reveries of those who sit within-doors, in the deep solitudes of quiet streets; bringing Epicurean thoughts to holiday children, and old memories to wiser folk. ─ Chambers' Edinburgh Journal (1846)
Chapter I. The Strawberry Girl. . . . "Sell the berries for sixpence a basket, and the roses for all you can get. People who love flowers well enough to buy them, never cavil about the price; just let them pay what they like." The little girl took the basket on her arm; her pretty mouth grew tremulous and bright as the moss rose-bud that blushed against her hand; ─ Fashion and Famine (1854)