Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.

By Eugene HowellDaly

1723 Alpheus and Arethusa

A NYMPH there was in Arcadie

Who owned a crystal spring;

And there she ’d wash, sans mackintosh,

B’gosh, or anything.

A youth there was in Arcadie

Who hunted o’er the brooks;

He would not tote an overcoat,

But travelled on his looks.

Though ancient Greece had no police,

The gods did as they ’d oughter;

To put them quite from mortal sight

They turned them into water!