 | English-gipsy songs |  |
213
THE GIFT.
As I was going along the town,Came a clergyman,
A very great man,—
You know him by name, I'll bet a crown;—
And preached like honey,
Askin' for money:
He wanted some
For a Hospital Home;
And I said: “If death ever should come to me,
I'd like to die there—respectably.”
So into my pocket my hand I poke,
And out a silver shillin' I took,
And dropped it in. The gent looked at me,
And—“Thank you, sir, for your gift,” says he,
To this here black-faced Rommany!
214
As gentlemen always to gentlemen do.
Charles G. Leland.
This was the account which a Gipsy gave me of an honour which he had received. In narrating the event, he acted it to life, with great spirit and intense satisfaction, ending with a profound bow, in imitation of the one bestowed on him by the clergyman. It may be worth recalling on Hospital Sunday that Old Windsor Cooper, the Gipsy, once gave his only shilling to the good cause.
| English-gipsy songs | |