She frowned, and ordered him up to bed:
He said he was sorry; she shook her head;
His clean shirt-front with his tears was stained—
But discipline had to be maintained.
The Constitution! The Law! The Crown!
Order reigns in Lilliput-town!
The Queen is Jill, and the King is John;
I trust the Government will get on.
I noticed, being a man of rhymes,
An advertisement in the Lilliput Times:—
“Pinafore Palace. This is to state
That the Court is in want of a Laureate.
“Nothing menial required.
Poets, willing to be hired,
May send in Specimens at once,
Care of the Chamberlain Doubledunce.”
Said I to myself Here’s a chance for me
The Lilliput Laureate for to be!
And these are the Specimens I sent in
To Pinafore Palace. Shall I win?
Public Notice.—This is to state
That these are the specimens left at the gate
Of Pinafore Palace, exact to date,
In the hands of the porter, Curlypate,
Who sits in his plush on a chair of state,
By the gentleman who is a candidate
For the office of Lilliput Laureate.