With claims for foxes and for pheasants;
We saw _Leigh Kelway_ drop his chin--
That precious English super-tripper--
In shocked amazement drinking in
The lurid narrative of _Slipper_.

_Philippa's_ piercing peacock squeals,
Uttered in moments of expansion;
The grime and splendour of the meals
Of _Mrs. Knox_ and of her mansion;
The secrets of horse-coping lore,
The loves of _Sally_ and of _Flurry_--
All these delights and hundreds more
Are not forgotten in a hurry.

Yet the same genial pens that freight
Our memories with joyous magic
Gave us the tale of _Francie's_ fate--
So vulgar, lovable and tragic;
Just to the land that gave them birth
They showed her smiling, sad and sullen,
And turning from the paths of mirth
Probed the dark soul of _Charlotte Mullen_.

Alas! the tie, so close, so dear,
Two years ago death rent asunder;
Hushed is the voice so gay and clear
Which moved us once to joy and wonder;
Yet, though they chronicle a loss
Whose pang no lapse of time assuages,