There was silence supreme! Not a shriek, not a scream,

⁠Scarcely even a howl or a groan,

As the man they called "Ho!" told his story of woe

⁠In an antediluvian tone.

"My father and mother were honest, though poor—"

⁠"Skip all that!" cried the Bellman in haste.

"If it once becomes dark, there's no chance of a Snark—

⁠We have hardly a minute to waste!"

"I skip forty years," said the Baker, in tears,

⁠"And proceed without further remark