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Song XIII. JOHN OLDHAM'S DISASTER.
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 | The songs of Joseph Mather |  |
Song XIII. JOHN OLDHAM'S DISASTER.
When all nature was hush'd, bird and beast gone to rest,
And each temperate man in his bed,
My heart in an instant with fears was distress'd,
Peace and sleep to a distance were fled.
This moment each thing was as still as a mouse,
But the next, to my shocking surprise,
Something quite uncommon did shake the whole house,
In my life I never heard such a noise.
And each temperate man in his bed,
My heart in an instant with fears was distress'd,
Peace and sleep to a distance were fled.
This moment each thing was as still as a mouse,
But the next, to my shocking surprise,
Something quite uncommon did shake the whole house,
In my life I never heard such a noise.
The bed where I lay jump'd a foot from the place,
Which made my wife and children quake,
A cratch fill'd with bottles fell down the staircase,
And they clashed while the kitchen did shake.
Plates, irons, and glasses made different sounds,
While the clothes on the winterhedge blazed,
At this midnight concert my fright had no bounds,
So I ran out of doors almost crazed.
Which made my wife and children quake,
A cratch fill'd with bottles fell down the staircase,
And they clashed while the kitchen did shake.
Plates, irons, and glasses made different sounds,
While the clothes on the winterhedge blazed,
At this midnight concert my fright had no bounds,
So I ran out of doors almost crazed.
17
It was my intent to have holloed out fire,
But two neighbours I chanc'd for to meet,
And what was the reason I began to inquire,
Of the terrible shock in the street.
One said 'tis John Oldham, who's got such a fall,
'Tis a mercy we are not destroy'd;
Our brewing tubs and gantries are overturn'd all,
And each one in the house terrifi'd.
But two neighbours I chanc'd for to meet,
And what was the reason I began to inquire,
Of the terrible shock in the street.
One said 'tis John Oldham, who's got such a fall,
'Tis a mercy we are not destroy'd;
Our brewing tubs and gantries are overturn'd all,
And each one in the house terrifi'd.
Alas! said another, it is not to tell
What a loss by this shock was sustain'd,
Our sow has got kill'd, by the hog-stye that fell,
And eleven fine pigs but just weaned.
In short, we concluded our dwelling to quit,
Which apparently soon must fall down,
Or petition the parliament not to permit
Such a monster to live in the town.
What a loss by this shock was sustain'd,
Our sow has got kill'd, by the hog-stye that fell,
And eleven fine pigs but just weaned.
In short, we concluded our dwelling to quit,
Which apparently soon must fall down,
Or petition the parliament not to permit
Such a monster to live in the town.
| The songs of Joseph Mather | |