Page:Fugitive Poetry 1600-1878.djvu/542
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THE ONE-LEGGED GOOSE.
And this time he vowed she should have a good sup
Of the bitter brine ere he drew her up;
So he kept her in for two minutes at least,
So that when she came up all speech had ceased.
Still, still, however, speaking or dumb,
She would not to her man succumb:
So, when the question again was put
As to how she thought the rope was cut.
She just held up her finger tip,
And made it against the next play clip—
A sign that truly, dip as he will,
She was of the same opinion still.
That sign was the snap of the scissors of Fate,
For down again she was plunged by her mate,
And left to float away on the Firth,
And never was seen again on earth.
Of the bitter brine ere he drew her up;
So he kept her in for two minutes at least,
So that when she came up all speech had ceased.
Still, still, however, speaking or dumb,
She would not to her man succumb:
So, when the question again was put
As to how she thought the rope was cut.
She just held up her finger tip,
And made it against the next play clip—
A sign that truly, dip as he will,
She was of the same opinion still.
That sign was the snap of the scissors of Fate,
For down again she was plunged by her mate,
And left to float away on the Firth,
And never was seen again on earth.
Now all you wives from Stirling to Crail,
Take warning by this dismal tale,
And if with your husbands you would have your way,
See that you don't the design betray;
Do nothing with them against the grain,
Or speak what will make them speak again;
You may rule, I assure you, without restriction,
But never, oh! never, by contradiction.
Take warning by this dismal tale,
And if with your husbands you would have your way,
See that you don't the design betray;
Do nothing with them against the grain,
Or speak what will make them speak again;
You may rule, I assure you, without restriction,
But never, oh! never, by contradiction.
The One-Legged Goose.
A wealthy gentleman in Hertfordshire,
Not troubled with an overplus of brains,
Like many a worthy country squire,
Whose craniums give them very little pains,
Lived quietly upon his own estate.
He was a bachelor, but whether that
Argues in favour of his understanding,
Or mitigates against it, is a question
That I would wish to have no hand in,
But leave it to your cool digestion.
He ne'er perplexed his pate
With the affairs of state,
But led a calm, domesticated life,
Far from the noise of town and party strife,
He loved to smoke his pipe with jovial souls,
Prided himself upon his skill at bowls,
At which he left his neighbours in the lurch;
On Sundays, too, he always went to church
Not troubled with an overplus of brains,
Like many a worthy country squire,
Whose craniums give them very little pains,
Lived quietly upon his own estate.
He was a bachelor, but whether that
Argues in favour of his understanding,
Or mitigates against it, is a question
That I would wish to have no hand in,
But leave it to your cool digestion.
He ne'er perplexed his pate
With the affairs of state,
But led a calm, domesticated life,
Far from the noise of town and party strife,
He loved to smoke his pipe with jovial souls,
Prided himself upon his skill at bowls,
At which he left his neighbours in the lurch;
On Sundays, too, he always went to church