 | The complete poetical works of Thomas Hood |  |
THE DEVIL'S ALBUM
It will seem an odd whim
For a Spirit so grim
As the Devil to take a delight in;
But by common renown
He has come up to town,
With an Album for people to write in!
For a Spirit so grim
As the Devil to take a delight in;
But by common renown
He has come up to town,
With an Album for people to write in!
On a handsomer book
Mortal never did look,
Of a flame-colour silk is the binding,
With a border superb,
Where through flowret and herb,
The old Serpent goes brilliantly winding!
Mortal never did look,
Of a flame-colour silk is the binding,
With a border superb,
Where through flowret and herb,
The old Serpent goes brilliantly winding!
By gilded grotesques,
And emboss'd arabesques,
The whole cover, in fact, is pervaded;
But, alas! in a taste
That betrays they were traced
At the will of a Spirit degraded!
And emboss'd arabesques,
The whole cover, in fact, is pervaded;
But, alas! in a taste
That betrays they were traced
At the will of a Spirit degraded!
As for paper—the best,
But extremely hot-pressed,
Courts the pen to luxuriate upon it,
And against ev'ry blank
There's a note on the Bank,
As a bribe for a sketch or a sonnet.
But extremely hot-pressed,
Courts the pen to luxuriate upon it,
And against ev'ry blank
There's a note on the Bank,
As a bribe for a sketch or a sonnet.
Who will care to appear
In the Friend's Souvenir,
Is a question to morals most vital;
But the very first leaf,
It's the public belief,
Will be fill'd by a Lady of Title!
In the Friend's Souvenir,
Is a question to morals most vital;
But the very first leaf,
It's the public belief,
Will be fill'd by a Lady of Title!
| The complete poetical works of Thomas Hood | |