A little book of tribune verse A number of hitherto uncollected poems, grave and gay |
 |
|
|
 |
JAFFA AND JERUSALEM R. R. TROUBLES. |
 | A little book of tribune verse |  |
241
JAFFA AND JERUSALEM R. R. TROUBLES.
Ben-Ali-Sneezer, late one afternoon,
Met Sheik Back-Gammon on old Horeb's mount,
And thus he in the language of the East,
His multifarious hardships did recount:
“O Sheik, I bow me in the dust and mourn,
For lo! whilst browsing on the fertile plain,
Two of my choicest heifers—fair and fat—
Were caught in limbo and were duly slain
By that infernal pest of recent birth,
The half-past eight accommodation train.”
Met Sheik Back-Gammon on old Horeb's mount,
And thus he in the language of the East,
His multifarious hardships did recount:
“O Sheik, I bow me in the dust and mourn,
For lo! whilst browsing on the fertile plain,
Two of my choicest heifers—fair and fat—
Were caught in limbo and were duly slain
By that infernal pest of recent birth,
The half-past eight accommodation train.”
Then quoth the Sheik: “One of my white lambs,
Which I did purpose soon to drive to town,
While frisking o'er the distant flowery lea,
Was by that selfsame fatal train run down.
Now, O Ben Ali! by the prophet's beard,
What are we ruined shepherd folk to do?
Suppose we take our troubles into court,
You swear for me and I will swear for you;
And so, by mutual oaths, it's possible
We may most hap'ly pull each other through.”
Which I did purpose soon to drive to town,
While frisking o'er the distant flowery lea,
Was by that selfsame fatal train run down.
Now, O Ben Ali! by the prophet's beard,
What are we ruined shepherd folk to do?
Suppose we take our troubles into court,
You swear for me and I will swear for you;
And so, by mutual oaths, it's possible
We may most hap'ly pull each other through.”
242
Ben-Ali-Sneezer some months after met
The Sheik Back-Gammon, and inclined to sport,
The two sat down upon a cedar stump
To talk of their experience in court.
Ben-Ali quoth, “Them cows was thin as rails,
Now that they're gone, it's mighty glad I am!”
Back-Gammon said, “Now that the judgment's paid,
I don't mind telling you the slaughtered lamb,
So far from being what you swore in court,
Was, by the great horned spoon, not worth a ---.”
The Sheik Back-Gammon, and inclined to sport,
The two sat down upon a cedar stump
To talk of their experience in court.
Ben-Ali quoth, “Them cows was thin as rails,
Now that they're gone, it's mighty glad I am!”
Back-Gammon said, “Now that the judgment's paid,
I don't mind telling you the slaughtered lamb,
So far from being what you swore in court,
Was, by the great horned spoon, not worth a ---.”
| A little book of tribune verse | |