The political and occasional poems of Winthrop Mackworth Praed ::

Oh whistle, and I'll come to you, Lord Grey;
Whistle, and I'll come to you, Lord Grey;
Whatever you do, and whatever you say,
Oh whistle, and I'll come to you, Lord Grey!

I promise, of course, what I promised before;
I speak as I spoke, and I swear as I swore;

221

But honest Lord Althorp to-morrow shall see,
A promise is pie-crust to Burdett and me.

So whistle, and I'll come to you, Lord Grey;
Whistle, and I'll come to you, Lord Grey;
Whate'er be the pledges I swallow to-day,
Just whistle, and I'll come to you, Lord Grey.

Perhaps I must talk, as I've talked long enough,
Of taxes, and ballot, and flogging, and stuff;
But Joseph, and Grote, and wise Alderman Key,
You know, will have little assistance from me.

So whistle, and I'll come to you, Lord Grey;
Whistle, and I'll come to you, Lord Grey;
I'm a popular man, and I talk for display,
But whistle, and I'll come to you, Lord Grey.

It's a terrible bore when the Radicals bring
Addresses, Petitions, and that sort of thing;
But a shake of the head, and a bend of the knee,
Is all they will get, if they bring them to me.

Then whistle, and I'll come to you, Lord Grey;
Whistle, and I'll come to you, Lord Grey;
Just wait till I've sent Mr. Wakley away,
Then whistle, and I'll come to you, Lord Grey.

222

Though vanished and lost are the praises you won,
Though I see you abused in the Times and the Sun,
Though they laugh, my dear lord, at your Family Tree,
These things are of little importance to me.

So whistle, and I'll come to you, Lord Grey;
Whistle, and I'll come to you, Lord Grey;
As long as you've places, as long as you've pay,
Oh whistle, and I'll come to you, Lord Grey!

University of Virginia Library

XXXI. WHISTLE.

INTENDED TO BE SUNG BY SIR JOHN CAM HOBHOUSE, AFTER HIS RE-ELECTION FOR WESTMINSTER.