(For the poor craven Khedive said never a word,)
“O, come ye to fleece us, or come ye to save,
Or to prove us insolvent, thou young Stephey Cave?”
“I long thought ye bankrupt—the truth ye denied;
Loans swell like the Solway, but ebb like its tide,
And now I am come with this ledger of mine
To go through your figures. You dare not decline!
There are countries in Europe as bankrupt, proud knave,
Who’d gladly be tipped by the young Stephey Cave.”
They threw down the records, bills, bonds, and such stuff;