JOHN soon replied, "I don't admire
That railway, I, for one;
But you know best, my dearest dear
And so it must be done.
"I, as a linen-draper bold,
Will bear myself, and though
'Tis Friday by the calendar,
Will risk my limbs, and go."
Quoth MISTRESS GILPIN, "Nicely said:
And then, besides, look here,
We'll go by the Excursion Train,
Which makes it still less dear."
JOHN GILPIN poked his clever wife,
And slightly smiled to find
That though on peril she was bent,
She had a careful mind.
The morning came; a cab was sought:
The proper time allow'd
To reach the station door; but lo!
Before it stood a crowd.
For half an hour they there were stay'd,
And when they did get in—
"No train! a hoax!" cried clerks, agog
To swear through thick and thin.
"Yea!" went the throats; stamp went the heels
Were never folks so mad,
The disappointment dire beneath;
All cried "it was too bad!"
JOHN GILPIN home would fain have hied,
But he must needs remain,
Commanded by his willful bride,
And take the usual train.
'T was long before our passengers
Another train could find,
When—stop! one ticket for the fares
Was lost or left behind!
"Good lack!" quoth JOHN, "yet try it on."
"'T won't do," the Guard replies;
And bearing wife and babes on board,
The train without him flies.