They tempted me, my bicycle but I have loved too long.
Who said that I had given thee up? Who said that thou wert sold?
’Tis false, ’tis false, my iron steed, I fling them back their gold.
Thus, thus, I leap upon thy back, and roll o’er distant plains—
Away, who overtakes us now, shall claim thee for their pains.
Anonymous.
A parody with the same title as the above, and written by R. P. Nind, appeared in Rare Bits for December 18, 1886. A prize was awarded to it as being the best poem written in praise of the bicycle. There was also another parody, entitled “The Englishman’s Farewell to his Train,” which appeared in Vol. I. of Tit Bits.
The Public’s Address to his Cabman.
My insolent, my turbulent! that stands crest-fallen by,