THE FATE OF PIOUS DAN
“RUN down and get the doctor—quick!”
Cried Jack Bean with a whoop;
“Run, Dan; for mercy’s sake, be quick!
Our baby’s got the croup.”
But Daniel shook his solemn head,
His sanctimonious brow,
And said: “I cannot go, for I
Must read my Bible now;
For I have regular hours to read
The Scripture for my spirit’s need.”
Said Silas Gove to Pious Dan,
“Our neighbour, ’Rastus Wright,
Is very sick; will you come down
And watch with him to-night?”
“He has my sympathy,” says Dan,
“And I would sure be there,
Did I not feel an inward call
To spend the night in prayer.
Some other man with Wright must stay;
Excuse me, while I go and pray.”
“Old Briggs has fallen in the pond!”
Cried little ’Bijah Brown;
“Run, Pious Dan, and help him out,
Or else he sure will drown!”
“I trust he’ll swim ashore,” said Dan,
“But now my soul is awed,
And I must meditate upon
The goodness of the Lord;
And nothing merely temporal ought
To interrupt my holy thought.”
So Daniel lived a pious life,
As Daniel understood,
But all his neighbours thought he was
Too pious to be good;
And Daniel died, and then his soul,
On wings of hope elate,
In glad expectancy flew up
To Peter’s golden gate.
“Now let your gate wide open fly;
Come, hasten, Peter! Here am I.”
“I’m sorry, Pious Dan,” said he,
“That time will not allow;
But you must wait a space, for I
Must read my Bible now.”
So Daniel waited long and long,
And Peter read all day.
“Now, Peter, let me in,” he cried.
Said Peter, “I must pray;
And no mean temporal affairs
Must ever interrupt my prayers.”
Then Satan, who was passing by,
Saw Dan’s poor shivering form,
And said, “My man, it’s cold out here;
Come down where it is warm.”
The angel baby of Jack Bean,
The angel ’Rastus Wright,
And old Briggs, a white angel, too,
All chuckled with delight;
And Satan said, “Come, Pious Dan,
For you are just my style of man.”
Samuel Walter Foss.