But I had some letters to finish,
And it couldn’t go out with the rest—
With the rest to the first post-office,
Oh, so far away from here;
It was vain to call back the porter,
He was deaf and could not hear.
I had a message to send her:
Some friends I intended to treat,
And I longed for a hansom to bear it,
But there wasn’t a cab in the street.