“I’ve fifty thousand of ’em, and I’d like to keep ’em too.

I’d like to put them by to serve some future rainy day,

But in these times of queer finance what can a fellow do?

“A railway bond is picturesque, and the supply is great,

But strangely like a novel that upon occasion drags,

Of which the critics of the time in hackneyed phrases state,

‘The work has certain value, but the int’rest often flags!’

“The same is true of railway shares, ’tis safer to invest

In ploughshares, so it seems to me, in this unhappy time.

Some think great wealth a blessing, but it cannot stand the test;