THE IMPERIAL SOCIALIST.
| A Song of the Situation. | Air—"The King and I". | Socialist Workman sings:— |
| Emperor. "I'm one of you!" | Socialist. "All right, Mate. Then—take off your Crown!" |
The Kaiser swears that he can work;
So can I! So can I!
Strain and long hours he will not shirk.
Nor do I, nor do I.
But he may work at his sweet will;
So they say, so they say.
Whilst I must toil my pouch to fill;
A long day, a long day!
So there's some difference I see
Betwixt the Emperor and me.
He hath his army and his ships;
Great are they! Great are they!
Their price, which my lean pocket nips,
I must pay, I must pay.
Yet here he comes to grip my hand;
That's his plan, that's his plan;
And at my side to take his stand,
Working-man, working-man!
Strange that such likeness there should be
Betwixt the Emperor and me!
Bismarck, it seems, he does not trust;
Nor do I, nor do I.
He thinks the toiler's claims are just;
He's called a Conference of Kings,
Novel scheme, novel scheme!
To talk of Socialistic things—
Pleasant dream, pleasant dream!
What difference, now, would Karl Marx see
Betwixt my Emperor and me?
The "International" they banned.
That was vile, that was vile.
But now a similar thing they've planned,
Makes me smile, makes me smile.
Labour world-over they'll discuss,
Far and near, far and near.
Will it all end in futile fuss?
That's my fear, that's my fear.
A difference of view I see
Betwixt the Emperor and me.
But here he comes to grip my fist,
Fair and free, fair and free.
Thinks he the chance I can't resist?
We shall see, we shall see.
I wear the Cap and he the Crown—
Awkward gear, awkward gear!
Is he content to put it down?
No, I fear; no, I fear.
If Workman I as Workman he,
Perhaps he'll just change hats with me!
The French Gallery.—Oddly enough the French Gallery contains but a small proportion of French pictures. Possibly Mr. Wallis thinks it is not high-bred to appear too long in a French rôle—perhaps he fancies the public would get crusty or the critics might have him "on toast." Anyhow, he has taken French leave to do as he pleases, and the result is very satisfactory. He does not lose our Frenchship by the change. There are three remarkable pictures by Prof. Fritz Von Uhde, and two by Prof. Max Liebermann, which ought to make a sensation, and there is an excellent Munkacsy, besides a varied collection of foreign pictures.
Mr. Henry Blackburn, author of that annually useful work, Academy Notes, is announced to give lectures at Kensington Town Hall, April 13. One of his subjects, "Sketching in Sunshine," will be very interesting to a Londoner. First catch your sunshine: then sketch. Mr. Blackburn will be illuminated by oxy-hydrogen; he will thus appear as Mr. White-burn; so altogether a light entertainment.
