*  *  *  *  *

As I dally awhile o’er my toast and the Times,

I picture these tourists, for time ever pressed,

Like spirits condemned, for most heinous of crimes,

To forfeit for ever the semblance of rest;

From foul-smelling places to towns fouler still,

I see them dragged hither and thither away;

Doomed mountains to climb, and spa waters to swill,

To touts and to guides and to vergers a prey.

I see them, deprived of the comforts they need,