Duganne's Poetical Works Autograph edition. Seventy-five Copies |
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THE AUTOCRAT'S TRIUMPH.
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 | Duganne's Poetical Works |  |
329
THE AUTOCRAT'S TRIUMPH.
A MUSCOVITE stood on the Capitol Hill—
A serf of Autocrat Nicholas;
And over the city of Washington
He looked through an opera-glass.
A serf of Autocrat Nicholas;
And over the city of Washington
He looked through an opera-glass.
He chuckled, and smacked his hairy lips,
And shook his sides with laughter,
As a slave-gang crawled through the Avenue,
With a driver following after.
And shook his sides with laughter,
As a slave-gang crawled through the Avenue,
With a driver following after.
“This building they call the Capitol,”
Quoth he, “is surely grand—
But down by the river stands one which suits
My own dear native land!
Quoth he, “is surely grand—
But down by the river stands one which suits
My own dear native land!
“I like that building—in faith, I do!
For out of it, all day long,
Come clank of chain and crack of lash,
And groans from agony wrung.
For out of it, all day long,
Come clank of chain and crack of lash,
And groans from agony wrung.
“Ho, ho! 'twould glad my master's heart—
My master, the Autocrat—
But, ah! what tumult is this I hear?
That rushing crowd—what's that?”
My master, the Autocrat—
But, ah! what tumult is this I hear?
That rushing crowd—what's that?”
330
The Muscovite looked through his opera-glass,
And he almost danced with joy;
For he saw a mob, and he heard the shout,
Of “burn!”—“tear down!”—“destroy!”
And he almost danced with joy;
For he saw a mob, and he heard the shout,
Of “burn!”—“tear down!”—“destroy!”
“Ho, ho!” laughed Muscovy, long and loud—
“The meaning of this I guess;
These brave and happy Republicans
Are about to muzzle a Press!
“The meaning of this I guess;
These brave and happy Republicans
Are about to muzzle a Press!
“This does me good, by Peter the Great!
There's hope for despots yet!
When the heel of a mob in Washington
On a fallen Press is set.
There's hope for despots yet!
When the heel of a mob in Washington
On a fallen Press is set.
“I feared, when Phillippe was sent adrift
For muzzling the voice of thought—
But I see these model Republicans
Are better than Frenchmen taught.
For muzzling the voice of thought—
But I see these model Republicans
Are better than Frenchmen taught.
“Ho, ho! Ho, ho! well done! well done!
For freedom of thought is o'er!
The Press is bullied in Washington,
And Tyranny's safe once more!”
For freedom of thought is o'er!
The Press is bullied in Washington,
And Tyranny's safe once more!”
| Duganne's Poetical Works | |