[61]
THE banners were waving, gems glittered and shone,
When my first and my second ascended the throne,
And peacefully reigned with a merciful sway
In glory and splendor. But one summer day
A message was brought to the court and the state
That the king was not coming, the session must wait.
A great consternation o’er all faces spread;
They whispered in sorrow, “Alack for his head!”
And the courtiers echoed, “Alas for his poll!
Oh, who can now help him, his head is my whole!”
[62]
I KNOW a boy; his name ’s my last.
And yet he is my first,
Because of all the scamps I know,
He really is the worst.
I saw him tumble down to-day
And on the pavement roll;
I saw him fight another boy,
I saw him get my whole.
His old cap was my whole, I think;
A tattered coat he had,
And yet, withal, he seemed to be
A very merry lad.
[63]
MY first, untidy though thou art,
A noted writer, and a scribe,
This trait of thine hath won my heart:
Thy kindness to the feathered tribe.
My second dwells among the hills,
Or lives on India’s coral strand;
And many hearts with fear it thrills
When marching in a mighty band.