OLD KING COLE.
BY ALFRED H. MILES.
Old King Cole was a merry old soul,
A merry old soul was he!
He would call for his pipe, he would call for his glass,
He would call for his fiddlers three;
With loving care and reason rare,
He ruled his subjects true—
Who used to sing, "Long live the King!"
And He—"the people too!"
Old King Cole was a musical soul,
A musical soul was he!
He used to boast what pleased him most
Was nothing but fiddle-de-dee!
But his pipe and his glass he loved—alas!
As much as his fiddlers three,
And by time he was done with the other and the one,
He was pretty well done, was he!
Old King Cole was a kingly soul,
A kingly soul was he!
He governed well, the records tell,
The brave, the fair, the free;
He used to say, by night and day,
"I rule by right divine!
My subjects free belong to me,
And all that's theirs is mine!"
Old King Cole was a worthy soul,
A worthy soul was he!
From motives pure he tried to cure
All greed and vanity;
So if he found—the country round
A slave to gold inclined,
He would take it away, and bid him pray
For a more contented mind.
Old King Cole was a good old soul,
A good old soul was he!
And social life from civil strife
He guarded royally,
For when he caught the knaves who fought
O'er houses, land, or store,
He would take it himself, whether kind or pelf,
That they shouldn't fall out any more.
Old King Cole was a thoughtful soul,
A thoughtful soul was he!
And he said it may be, if they all agree,
They may all disagree with me.
I must organise routs and tournament bouts,
And open a Senate, said he;
Play the outs on the ins and the ins on the outs,
And the party that wins wins me.
So Old King Cole, constitutional soul,
(Constitutional soul was he)!
With royal nous, a parliament house
He built for his people free.
And they talked all day and they talked all night,
And they'd die, but they wouldn't agree
Until black was white, and wrong was right,
And he said, "It works to a T."
Old King Cole was a gay old soul,
A gay old soul was he!
If he chanced to meet a maiden sweet,
He'd be sure to say "kitchi kitchi kee;"
And then if her papa, her auntie or mamma,
Should suddenly appear upon the scene,
He would put the matter straight with an office in the state
If they'd promise not to go and tell the queen.
Old Queen Cole was a dear old soul,
A dear old soul was she!
Her hair was as red as a rose—'tis said—
Her eyes were as green as a pea;
At beck and call for rout and ball,
She won the world's huzzahs.
At fêtes and plays and matinees
Receptions and bazaars.
When Old King Cole, with his pipe and bowl,
At a smoking concert presided,
His queen would be at a five-o'clock tea,
At the palace where she resided;
And so they governed, ruled, and reigned,
O'er subjects great and small,
And never was heard a seditious word
In castle, cot, or hall.