He replied courteously.
"It is because my statue is of bronze. That exposes me constantly to scorn. Thus the other day."
Passing by one day the negro Sam MacVea
Seeing I was the blacker, sat down and muttered:
'Yea.'
"See how adroit those lines are. Did you notice how well the couplet I just recited for you rhymes for the eye."
"Indeed," said Croniamantal, "for it is pronounced Sam MacVee, like Shakespeer."
"Well here is something that comes off better," continued the statue:
Passing by one day the negro Sam MacVea
Christened this tablet with a flask of eau-de-vie.
"There is a bit of refinement that ought to appeal to you. It is the rime riche, the perfect rhyme to delight the ear."
"You certainly enlighten me on the rhyme," said Croniamantal. "I am very happy, dear master, to have met you in passing by."
"It is my first success," replied the metallic poet. "But I have just composed a little poem bearing the same title: it is about a gentleman who passes by. The Passerby, across the corridor of a railroad coach; he perceives a charming lady with whom, instead of going only to Brussels, he stops at the Dutch frontier: