It once was the pride of the gay and the fair,

But now ’tis a ruin,—that old Sedan chair!

It is battered and tattered,—it little avails

That once it was lacquered, and glistened with nails;

For its leather is cracked into lozenge and square,

Like a canvas by Wilkie,—that old Sedan chair!

See,—here came the bearing-straps; here were the holes

For the poles of the bearers—when once there were poles;

It was cushioned with silk, it was wadded with hair,

As the birds have discovered,—that old Sedan chair!