IN all the towns and cities
On Merry England's broad expanse,
No swordsman ever could
With
AS
OM
CE.
The dauntless lad could fairly hewA silken handkerchief in twain,
Divide a leg of mutton too -And this without unwholesome strain.
On whole half-sheep, with cunning trick,
His sabre sometimes he'd employ -No bar of lead, however thick,
Had terrors for the stalwart boy.
At Dover daily he'd
To hew and slash, behind, before -Which aggravated
UR
RE,
Who watched him from the Calais shore.
It caused good
RE to swear and dance,
The sight annoyed and vexed him so;
He was the bravest man in France -He said so, and he ought to know."Regardez donc, ce cochon gros -Ce polisson!
Oh, sacre bleu!
Son sabre, son plomb, et ses
Comme cela m'ennuye, enfin, mon Dieu!"Il sait que les foulards de
Give no retaliating whack -Les gigots morts n'ont pas de quoi -Le plomb don't ever hit you back."But every day the headstrong
Cut lead and mutton more and more;
And every day poor
RE, half mad,
Shrieked loud defiance from his shore.
CE had a mother, poor and old,
A simple, harmless village dame,
Who crowed and clapped as people
Of
OM'S rising fame.
She said, "I'll be upon the
To see my
MY'S sabre-play;"And so she left her leafy cot,
And walked to Dover in a day.
RE had a doating mother,
Had heard of his defiant rage;
IS Ma was nearly ninety-two,
And rather dressy for her age.
At
CE'S doings every morn,
With sheer delight
IS mother cried;
And
UR
RE'S contemptuous
Filled
IS mamma with proper pride.
But
CE'S powers began to fail -His constitution was not strong -And
RE, who once was stout and hale,
Grew thin from shouting all day long.
Their mothers saw them pale and wan,
Maternal anguish tore each breast,
And so they met to find a
To set their offsprings' minds at rest.
Said
RS.
CE, "Of course I
From bloodshed, ma'am, as you're aware,
But still they'd better meet,
I thinks.""Assurement!" said
ME
RE.
A sunny spot in sunny
Was hit upon for this affair;
The ground was picked by
RS.
CE,
The stakes were pitched by
ME
RE.
Said
RS.
H., "Your work you see -Go in, my noble boy, and win.""En garde, mon fils!" said
ME P."Allons!" "Go on!" "En garde!" "Begin!"(The mothers were of decent size,
Though not particularly tall;
But in the sketch that meets your eyesI've been obliged to draw them small.)Loud sneered the doughty man of France,"Ho! ho! Ho! ho! Ha! ha! Ha! ha!"The French for 'Pish'" said
AS
CE.
Said
RE, "L'Anglais,
Monsieur, pour 'Bah.'"Said
RS.
H., "Come, one! two! three! -We're sittin' here to see all fair.""C'est magnifique!" said
ME P.,"Mais, parbleu! ce n'est pas la guerre!""Je scorn un foe si lache que vous,"Said
RE, the doughty son of France."I fight not coward foe like you!"Said our undaunted
MY
CE."The French for 'Pooh!'" our
MY cried."L'Anglais pour 'Va!'" the Frenchman crowed.
And so, with undiminished pride,
Each went on his respective road.
