Page:Fugitive Poetry 1600-1878.djvu/538
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THE DOSE.
Was new, was wonderful, was strange!
And you may range
The pharmacopœia o'er and o'er,
You'll not find anything that's pat,
Though you should all your lifetime pore.
And you may range
The pharmacopœia o'er and o'er,
You'll not find anything that's pat,
Though you should all your lifetime pore.
His case was fever, raging, burning,
He took to his bed,
With fiery eyes and aching head,
And tossed as if on glowing cinders turning.
The doctor came—('twas very needful),
And he displayed his skill most heedful;
He wrote for pills and draughts to drive
The devil out—dead or alive;
And as the gentleman might still be worse,
He ordered, too
(Quite right, you know),
A steady, careful, good old nurse;
And quickly to the patient came,
As recommended, the old dame:
She curtsied, looked him in the face,
Shook her grey locks, and much deplored his case!
"Och, honey! you are very ill,
But never mind,
We soon shall find,
All your complaint
By the good Saint
Patrick and the doctor's skill."
He took to his bed,
With fiery eyes and aching head,
And tossed as if on glowing cinders turning.
The doctor came—('twas very needful),
And he displayed his skill most heedful;
He wrote for pills and draughts to drive
The devil out—dead or alive;
And as the gentleman might still be worse,
He ordered, too
(Quite right, you know),
A steady, careful, good old nurse;
And quickly to the patient came,
As recommended, the old dame:
She curtsied, looked him in the face,
Shook her grey locks, and much deplored his case!
"Och, honey! you are very ill,
But never mind,
We soon shall find,
All your complaint
By the good Saint
Patrick and the doctor's skill."
After this wise remark, I need not say,
You must not wonder
Should you commit a blunder
In the Irish way.
I prithee, gents, make no objection!
I do not mean the least reflection.
You'll recollect this is a case quite serious,
The patient lay in bed almost delirious,
The fever raging in his veins:
When soon arrived a draught to do him good,
And pills to quell the boiling of his blood,
And ease him of his pains.
You must not wonder
Should you commit a blunder
In the Irish way.
I prithee, gents, make no objection!
I do not mean the least reflection.
You'll recollect this is a case quite serious,
The patient lay in bed almost delirious,
The fever raging in his veins:
When soon arrived a draught to do him good,
And pills to quell the boiling of his blood,
And ease him of his pains.
Nurse poured the draught into a cup,
And soon the sick man drank it up;
The box of pills with care she placed
Where various things the mantel graced,
Because two hours must pass away
To let the potion have fair play.
And soon the sick man drank it up;
The box of pills with care she placed
Where various things the mantel graced,
Because two hours must pass away
To let the potion have fair play.