And whose modest demands with his loss proofs are filed.

His property cost, as he shows from his deeds,

A sum which ten thousand times over exceeds

The mite of insurance for which he now pleads.

His goods, to be sure, they were mostly sold out;

His building within was a shell, and without

Was veneered with cheap stone, or thin iron, or grout;

But his word, bless my soul! who could harbor a doubt,

Its truthfulness or its exactness about?

So he pockets his funds, and he rolls up his eyes,