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50 JOANNA RUOCCO The vicar had a daughter. The vicar’s daughter sang behind a hedge. The vicar’s daughter sang like a linnet. She took a large book behind the hedge. She took a cup of overdrawn tea. Hours are always passing. The books are bound in buckram . The little book is mensuration. The large book, voyages and lives. The vicar’s daughter sang. The poplars swayed. The vicar was afloat in the mill pond. His clothes were folded on a stone. The tea grew very dark and cold. The vicar’s daughter climbed into the gig. Linnets sang along the roadway. Beside the manse, the children played with sticks and cords. They tipped her trunk. They dragged her dresses through the mud. They struck her face with clods. Hours are always passing. The large girl is Mistress Ann. The little boy is Master Charles. The vicar’s daughter crawled into the fire. She held a little, singeing book. She chased the children through the mole traps in the garden. She ran behind the peat house. She followed sounds 22 51 ANOTHER GOVERNESS into the stables. The vicar’s daughter climbed upon a threelegged stool. She cut the dog down from the beam. The dog sagged. The rope thudded on the straw. Weasels were nailed to the fence posts. The mole traps swarmed with flies. Down the wooded bank, primroses peeked from twisted roots. The vicar’s daughter sang. She sat in the brook. The boy stopped kicking beneath her. The water felt good. The vicar’s daughter let the water numb her hands. ...

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