NEW KING COAL.
(A new Mining-Capitalist Version of an old Nursery Rhyme, dedicated and commended to the thoughtful consideration of the colliers on strike in Northumberland and Durham.)
[Putting it in the form of a conundrum, Mr. Punch would ask the Colliers who may read this rhyme the following question, the answer to which may throw a light upon the meaning of New King Coal's jubilant doggerel ditty:—
"When prices rise—even in the midst of the Dog Days—and the output of first-class coal falls, who reaps the advantage of the enhanced value and readier sale of accumulated stocks of small and slaggy 'rubbish'?">[
O our New King Coal
Is an artful old soul,
And an artful old soul is he;
And a jolly good Strike
Is a game he must like—
When it pulls in the £ s. d.
He calls for his "weed" and he calls for his "fizz,"
And he calls for his—Fiddle-de-dee!
Every fiddler has his own little fiddle,
And a very fine fiddle has he.
"£ s. d., £ s. d.," sings King Coal, "Fiddle-de-dee!
Oh! an opportune Strike is the thing for me!"
O, there's none so rare
As can compare
With King Coal and his Fiddle-de-dee!