 | Tales in Verse for Young People |  |
III. PART III.
Now in this third part you will see
The end of Crabthorn's treachery;
How she had cause to rue the day
Whereon the Cat was made away.
The end of Crabthorn's treachery;
How she had cause to rue the day
Whereon the Cat was made away.
See now, my dear brother,
This is the great dining-hall,
Where the company is assembled
After the funeral.
This is the great dining-hall,
Where the company is assembled
After the funeral.
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It is a very noble room;
But now we cannot stay,
We must look at the old wainscot
And the pictures some other day.
But now we cannot stay,
We must look at the old wainscot
And the pictures some other day.
See here sits the company,
The heir and all the cousins;
The nephews and the grand-nephews,
And the nieces by dozens.
The heir and all the cousins;
The nephews and the grand-nephews,
And the nieces by dozens.
And there is the lawyer
Reading the lady's will;
For an hour they've sat listening,
All of them stock-still.
Reading the lady's will;
For an hour they've sat listening,
All of them stock-still.
The lawyer he has just reached
To where the will said,
“Mrs Crabthorn shall have fifty pounds
A year till the cat be dead.
To where the will said,
“Mrs Crabthorn shall have fifty pounds
A year till the cat be dead.
“That fifty pounds a year
Shall be left to her to keep
The cat in good condition,
With a cushion whereon to sleep;
Shall be left to her to keep
The cat in good condition,
With a cushion whereon to sleep;
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“That as long as the cat live
The money shall be her due.”
And the old lady prayed her, in her will,
To be a loving guardian and true.
The money shall be her due.”
And the old lady prayed her, in her will,
To be a loving guardian and true.
“Goodness me!” screamed Mrs Crabthorn,
“The cat's dead, I do declare!
Who thought that Madam meant the money
Only for the cat's share!
“The cat's dead, I do declare!
Who thought that Madam meant the money
Only for the cat's share!
“Lawk, sirs, she loved my lady
More than all the world beside;
And so, like any Christian,
She took to her bed and died!
More than all the world beside;
And so, like any Christian,
She took to her bed and died!
“She died of grief for my lady,
On the third day and no other!”
“You shall not be forgotten, Crabthorn!”
Said good Madam Fortescue's brother.
On the third day and no other!”
“You shall not be forgotten, Crabthorn!”
Said good Madam Fortescue's brother.
And with that up jumps Scroggin,
You see where he stands,
Dangling the very rope
In his great rough hands.
You see where he stands,
Dangling the very rope
In his great rough hands.
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And moreover than that,
To make it past a doubt,
There's the cat-skin in his pocket,
Which he will presently pull out.
To make it past a doubt,
There's the cat-skin in his pocket,
Which he will presently pull out.
And he tells all the company
Assembled there that day,
How Crabthorn had misused the cat,
And had her made away.
Assembled there that day,
How Crabthorn had misused the cat,
And had her made away.
Now if you inquire of me
Why her death he did not smother,
I can only say, bad people
Often betray one another.
Why her death he did not smother,
I can only say, bad people
Often betray one another.
And I can very well suppose
They have quarrelled since that day,
And now, to be revenged on her,
He determines to betray.
They have quarrelled since that day,
And now, to be revenged on her,
He determines to betray.
But you see how angry she is,
How her face is in a blaze;
But she deserved her disappointment,
And so every one says.
How her face is in a blaze;
But she deserved her disappointment,
And so every one says.
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And now remember this,
My dear little brother,
Never be unkind or cruel
To one thing or another.
My dear little brother,
Never be unkind or cruel
To one thing or another.
For nobody knows how sorely
They may have cause to repent;
And always, sooner or later,
There comes a punishment!
They may have cause to repent;
And always, sooner or later,
There comes a punishment!
| Tales in Verse for Young People | |