Now hangs upon the kitchen walls So pass the fads of former days. Old China that was once the craze (One more verse.) :0: HERE'S THE BOWER. HERE'S the bower she lov'd so much, And the tree she planted; Here's the harp she used to touchOh, how that touch enchanted! T. MOORE. WHEN he who now bores thee has left but the fame Of his one little weakness behind, Oh! say wilt thou smile when they mock at his name, Nay, weep, and however my face may condemn To buttonhole thee was my constant delight, Each mare's nest I found I exposed to thy sight, Oh! blest be thy kindness which hearing would give The great race of Buttonhole-Bores could not live, HERE'S the box that held the snuff, Oh! how that puff o'er came us! Strasburgh, Tonquin,-both are dry,Where's the hand to soak them? Pipes around extinguished lie,— Where's the lip to smoke them? Gin may fall, but he who loved It, ne'er shall feel its cheapness; Porter pots may be improved,— Lost on him their deepness. Quarts were pints where'er he stayed,Pints were to quarterns nearer ; Whiff ne'er warmed a jollier blade, Nor drinking killed a dearer. THERE'S of benches a row in St. Stephen's extreme, That bench and its placemen I never forget, But oft when alone at the close of the year, I think are conservatives sitting there yet, Are the subs to their speeches still clamouring "hear!' No, the Tories are ousted each plundering knave, But rich harvests they pluck'd while the sun on them shone, And wealth was amassed from their jobbing which gave All the profits of place when their places were gone. Thus the minister takes, from his power e'er it dies, A pension that gives him some thousands a year. So lucrative either in fall or in rise, Is a seat on some bench in the treasury sphere. Figaro in London, November 10, 1832, "THERE'S A BOWER OF BEAN-VINES," THERE'S a bower of bean-vines in Benjamin's yard, And the cabbages grow round it, planted for greens ; In the time of my childhood 'twas terribly hard To bend down the bean-poles, and pick off the beans. That bower and its products I never forget, But oft, when my landlady presses me hard, I think, are the cabbages growing there yet, Are the bean-vines still bearing in Benjamin's yard? No, the bean-vines soon withered that once used to wave, But some beans had been gathered, the last that hung on And a soup was distilled in a kettle, that gave All the fragrance of summer when summer was gone. Thus memory draws from delight, ere it dies, An essence that breathes of it awfully hard ; And thus good to my taste as 'twas then to my eyes, Is that bower of bean-vines in Benjamin's yard. Poems and Parodies. By PHOEBE CAREY, Boston, U. S., 1854. :0: PARLIAMENT AND THE TORY. 'Every one is acquainted with Moore's beautiful poem of Paradise and the Peri, in which the fallen spirit is represented as seeking on earth for a boon to regain the heaven she has lost. The story assimilates closely to a late affair, in which a certain military Tory (the Duke of Wellington), having lost the heaven of place (to him far more desirable than any place in heaven) devised all kinds of tricks to regain his former position. ONE morn a Tory at the gate Of Whigs within, like poison flowing, The Devil, who is always keeping From Eldon's fountain, when he cries With tears which those who know him say Proceed from no where but his eyes. "Thou scion of a plundering line," The Devil said one hope is thine." I think it is not yet too late The Tory may again get power, Who brings to this infernal gate Some trick or bribe to suit the hour; "Go seek it," said he with a grin, "'Tis sweet to let the Tories in." Downward the Tory turns his gaze, Desponding, 'mid the people crying Reform, just falling from his hand, And his last hope to save it dying. He tried what chance he found remain, A threat of Peers, but all in vain. False flew the shaft, though pointed well Corruption lingered, freedom fell ; It would stain not the purest of those who still Long to sit on the treasury bench of bliss. Oh, if there be on this earthly sphere A boon that the Devil holds truly dear, From a premier who falls with the people's cause. "Sweet," said the Devil, as he gave Of office moves not-craftier far Figaro in London, 1832. He wept to think he'd run his race, And left for aye that glorious place. "How happy" exclaimed that child of airAnd 'twas true, though he hadn't much truth to spare "Are Gladstone and Bright in clover there! "Woe, woe for ever! The Election's done, The votes are cast And I've not won!" Bits of Beaconsfield. (ABEL HEYWOOD & SON, Manchester.) ·:0: THE LAMENT OF THE PERI. Oh! fair as the sea-flower close to thee growing, Farewell, farewell-until Pity's sweet fountain They'll weep for the Maiden who sleeps in this wave. "The wrongs of Ireland which are exciting so much sympathy on all hands at this moment, naturally call to recollection one of her most devoted advocates, as well as one of her brightest ornaments. AIR.—Farewell—farewell to thee, Araby's daughter. Oh fair as the flowers all over thee growing, But yet when to Parliament they are returning, Will weep when they think how thy freedom was sold THE SONG OF THE SULTAN FAREWELL-farewell to thee, ARABI darling! Oh! sweet as the whiff from my chibouque soft blowing, Our joint little game till the Britisher came, Like the wind from the desert rose-gardens o'erthrowing And blew it to bits. 'Tis a thundering shame! But long upon ARABI'S Orient guile and Astuteness shall ABDUL sit brooding in gloom. And now by Old Nilus SIR GARNET is burning, And calls to his standard the young and the old. I've played fast and loose, but the Giaour's successes I must leave thee to fate, though my bosom still blesses Nor shall Islam, who hails thee as hero, forget thee- But if thou shouldst lick them, by Allah, she'd set thee Farewell!-be it mine still to squat on this pillow, But those sons of burnt fathers who've come o'er the billow I've ground my poor teeth till I've shivered the amber, I'll dive where Intrigue's deepest plots still lie darkling * Daniel O'Connell, M.P. On January 7, 1880 The World published four parodies on the same poem which had been sent in for Competition, the subject selected being: THE AMEER OF CABUL, YAKOOB KHAN. BEGONE, begone with thee, son of Shere Ali ! Is feeble in heart and in spirit as thou. O, brave as the chieftains thy palace adorning How high was thy pride ere the Englishman came, Like the frost of the north on the flow'r of the morning, And silenced thy boasting, and withered thy fame Ever call on thy name as he rushes along. So shall Cabul, beloved of Shere Ali, forget thee, Begone! Be it ours to atone for thy meekness, We'll charge where the thickest the foe is deploying, Begone, begone, until life is departed, And still are the hearts of the true and the brave! We'll weep for the warriors who died noble-hearted; We'll curse at the coward who sued like a slave. TOFFER. (Sir Louis Cavagnari, the English Envoy to Afghanistan, and his staff having been murdered in the Cabul, English troops hastened to that city which was captured on Christmas Eve, 1879. Yakoob Khan, accused of complicity in the massacre, was sent as a prisoner to India.) SECOND PRIZE. AWAY, away with the Ameer unlucky! (Thus murmured the Viceroy o'er India's plain;) No oyster fished up by a pearl-diver plucky, Ever proved such a sell as thy spiritless reign. *A possible place of exile for the Ameer, as it was used for the King of Delhi's prison. O, bright as the passion-flower by the wall creeping, How fair was thy promise till treachery came ! Like the storm of the desert through rose-garden sweeping And quenched thy brief glory in blood and in flame. But long by Cabul's rapid glacier-fed fountains Shall the young and the old shudder over the fate Away! Be it mine to surround thy seclusion My cook shall prepare thee the daintiest dishes, 'TWAS EVER THUS. I NEVER loved a dear gazelle, In fact, I never knew one; And though I've loved a sweet mam'zelle I've ne'er had pluck to woo one. 'Twas ever thus, 'twas ever thus From boyhood's early prime, sirs, I never went to dance or ball, 'Twas ever thus, 'twas ever thus ; I thought her parents wealthy; I've found them poor-they live next door, And are so beastly healthy. I speculated all my cash In her relations' ventures; Of course the comp'nies went to smash- Twas ever thus, 'twas ever thus: I'll take a trip across the seas With wife, or wife's relations. 'Twas never thus, 'twas never thus, I'd ne'er in view such blisses; In ecstasy I'd fly to thee, Sweet freedom, joy, and kissesOh, wretched dog, I now must jog, For here comes dreadful missus A FEW MUDDLED METAPHORS BY A MOORE-OSE MELODIST. Oн, ever thus, from childhood's hour, I've seen my fondest hopes recede ! I never loved a tree or flow'r That did'nt trump its partner's lead. I never nursed a dear gazelle, To glad me with its dappled hide, But when it came to know me well, I never taught a cockatoo To whistle comic songs profound. But, first when "Jolly Dogs" it knew It failed for ninepence in the pound I never reared a walrus-cub In my aquarium to plunge, But, when it learnt to love its tub I never strove a metaphor To every bosom home to bring Tom Hood, the younger. "I never had a piece of toast, 'TWAS EVER THUS. ANONYMOUS. I NEVER rear'd a young gazelle, No doubt the creature would have died. My rich and aged Uncle John Has known me long and loves me well, I would he were a young gazelle. I never loved a tree or flower; The blight, the wind, the sun, or shower I've dearly loved my uncle John, From childhood till the present hour, And yet he will go living on I would he were a tree or flower! From Carols of Cockayne. By Henry S. Leigh. (Chatto and Windus, London, 1874.) WUS, EVER Wus. Wus! ever wus! By freak of Puck's My most exciting hopes are dashed ; I never wore my spotless ducks But madly-wildly! they were splashed. I never roved by Cynthia's beam, And oh! I never did the swell In Regent street, amongst the beaux, From Puck on Pegasus, by H. Cholmondeley-Pennell. (Chatto and Windus, London,) DISASTER. 'TWAS ever thus from childhood's hour! My fondest hopes would not decay: I never loved a tree or flower Which was the first to fade away! The garden, where I used to delve Short-frock'd, still yields me pinks in plenty The Peartree that I climbed at twelve I see still blossoming, at twenty. |