A little book of tribune verse A number of hitherto uncollected poems, grave and gay |
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THE BROWN TRAGEDY. |
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 | A little book of tribune verse |  |
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THE BROWN TRAGEDY.
Old Obadiah Goshen Brown
Not many years ago,
Owned half a Massachusetts town—
Was awful rich, you know;
And being somewhat sick and blue,
He thought he'd visit Manitou.
Not many years ago,
Owned half a Massachusetts town—
Was awful rich, you know;
And being somewhat sick and blue,
He thought he'd visit Manitou.
Arrived and fairly settled there
With all his traps and things,
He praised the clear and bracing air,
Likewise the Soda Springs,
And feeling frisky, quoth “I think
I'll to the bar and buy a drink.”
With all his traps and things,
He praised the clear and bracing air,
Likewise the Soda Springs,
And feeling frisky, quoth “I think
I'll to the bar and buy a drink.”
Alas when came the time to pay
For that small drink, poor Brown
Saw all his fortune fade away—
His bonds, his stock, his town,
His bank account and all the rest
Of earthly pelf that he possessed.
For that small drink, poor Brown
Saw all his fortune fade away—
His bonds, his stock, his town,
His bank account and all the rest
Of earthly pelf that he possessed.
He signed a quit-claim to it all
Then to the foothills hied—
“I will complete my dreadful fall
By perishing,” he cried.
With that he made a fatal pitch
Into an irrigating ditch.
Then to the foothills hied—
“I will complete my dreadful fall
By perishing,” he cried.
With that he made a fatal pitch
Into an irrigating ditch.
August 23d, 1881.
| A little book of tribune verse | |