Page:Fugitive Poetry 1600-1878.djvu/486
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MONSIEUR KANIFERSTANE.
"No doubt you have a conscience good,
Nor do I mean to shock it;
But pilgrim, when you call again,
Bring money in your pocket."
Nor do I mean to shock it;
But pilgrim, when you call again,
Bring money in your pocket."
Monsieur Kaniferstane.
Once on a time a little French marquis
For travel felt a mighty inclination,
To show himself, and foreign parts to see,
He undertook a bold peregrination.
At Dieppe he found a sloop just under weigh,
By Dutchmen manned, and bound for Amsterdam;
Wind and tide serving, off he sails away,
And soon sea-sick, beyond finesse or sham,
Close in the cabin he preferred to nestle;
There, faint and languid, for a space he dozed,
Till from the increased commotion in the vessel,
That land might be in sight he well supposed;
So to the deck he climbed, with empty maw,
And sure enough Dutch terra firma saw.
For travel felt a mighty inclination,
To show himself, and foreign parts to see,
He undertook a bold peregrination.
At Dieppe he found a sloop just under weigh,
By Dutchmen manned, and bound for Amsterdam;
Wind and tide serving, off he sails away,
And soon sea-sick, beyond finesse or sham,
Close in the cabin he preferred to nestle;
There, faint and languid, for a space he dozed,
Till from the increased commotion in the vessel,
That land might be in sight he well supposed;
So to the deck he climbed, with empty maw,
And sure enough Dutch terra firma saw.
While in the cabin sick and sad he lay,
Though a true Frenchman, he ne'er dreamt of talking;
But when on deck, his spirits grew more gay,
And his blood 'gan to circulate with walking;
He recollected that he had a tongue.
Now though a Frenchman French with ease can jabber,
And doubtless thinks all other ears are hung
Like those he left at home, yet a Dutch swabber
Is apt enough no other speech to know
Than that which first he learned from Mother Frow.
Though a true Frenchman, he ne'er dreamt of talking;
But when on deck, his spirits grew more gay,
And his blood 'gan to circulate with walking;
He recollected that he had a tongue.
Now though a Frenchman French with ease can jabber,
And doubtless thinks all other ears are hung
Like those he left at home, yet a Dutch swabber
Is apt enough no other speech to know
Than that which first he learned from Mother Frow.
Such was the case with all the trunk-hosed crew:
The marquis, struck with wonder and delight,
Enraptured gazed on objects all so new.
At length a sumptuous palace caught his sight,
Which, proudly rising from the water's side,
Showed its new-painted front, with flowerets gay,
While trim responsive gardens, spreading wide,
Displayed Dutch taste in regular array.
Anxious to know who owned the pleasing scene,
The marquis, bowing with a grinning face,
Demanded of a tar, in French I ween,
To whom belonged that most enchanting place.
The marquis, struck with wonder and delight,
Enraptured gazed on objects all so new.
At length a sumptuous palace caught his sight,
Which, proudly rising from the water's side,
Showed its new-painted front, with flowerets gay,
While trim responsive gardens, spreading wide,
Displayed Dutch taste in regular array.
Anxious to know who owned the pleasing scene,
The marquis, bowing with a grinning face,
Demanded of a tar, in French I ween,
To whom belonged that most enchanting place.