He cursed him in eating, he cursed him in drinking,
With troubles dyspeptic and feelings of "sinking";
He cursed him in walking, in running, in flying,
In puffing and panting, in freezing and frying,
With horror of living and longing for dying.
He banished him harshly from home, couch, and cook,
His favourite chair, and his best-beloved book;
From afternoon snooze, and from snug evening smoke,
From old-fashioned "rubber," and elderly joke;
From pottering round in his trim-bedded garden,