 | The select poems of Dr. Thomas Dunn English (exclusive of the "Battle lyrics") |  |
THE COAL BARON.
On the bank of the Rhine, the bold baron of old,
Like a spider enwebbed, sat alert in his hold;
And when burgher in tunic, or clerk in his gown,
Jogged along on the highway to abbey or town,
Impartial to all who were able to pay,
Down he swoopt with his stout men-at-arms on his prey;
Some parted with silver, some parted with gold.
But all paid their toll to the baron of old.
Like a spider enwebbed, sat alert in his hold;
And when burgher in tunic, or clerk in his gown,
Jogged along on the highway to abbey or town,
Impartial to all who were able to pay,
Down he swoopt with his stout men-at-arms on his prey;
Some parted with silver, some parted with gold.
But all paid their toll to the baron of old.
To the Emperor Conrad who sat on the throne
Came burgher and priest with a pitiful moan.
Conrad heard with knit brows and with evident ire,
And cried—“The foul robber is playing with fire.
Good knights and brave vassals, the felon shall know
That law bears alike on the high and the low.”
And widely the justice of Conrad was praised
When the baron was hanged and his castle was razed.
Came burgher and priest with a pitiful moan.
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And cried—“The foul robber is playing with fire.
Good knights and brave vassals, the felon shall know
That law bears alike on the high and the low.”
And widely the justice of Conrad was praised
When the baron was hanged and his castle was razed.
Now we have a baron who plays the same game,
His methods may differ, his ends are the same;
Poor pay to the swart, toiling miner he deals;
With high prices the store of consumers he steals;
The fetters of law are mere cobwebs to him,
He rends them asunder at will or in whim;
The beggar and bondholder both must pay toll
To swell the fat purse of the Baron of Coal.
His methods may differ, his ends are the same;
Poor pay to the swart, toiling miner he deals;
With high prices the store of consumers he steals;
The fetters of law are mere cobwebs to him,
He rends them asunder at will or in whim;
The beggar and bondholder both must pay toll
To swell the fat purse of the Baron of Coal.
Is justice a farce, and are laws but a jest,
And courts only act at the Baron's behest,
And have we no Conrad, no monarch, whose sword
Can reach in his stronghold this baron abhorred?
Ah, yes! in the People. Once roused for the right,
They are potent these cogging forestallers to smite,
And woe to the wretches who waken their ire—
Coal Baron, beware! you are playing with fire.
And courts only act at the Baron's behest,
And have we no Conrad, no monarch, whose sword
Can reach in his stronghold this baron abhorred?
Ah, yes! in the People. Once roused for the right,
They are potent these cogging forestallers to smite,
And woe to the wretches who waken their ire—
Coal Baron, beware! you are playing with fire.
| The select poems of Dr. Thomas Dunn English (exclusive of the "Battle lyrics") | |