The Vagabond and Other Poems from Punch by R. C. Lehmann
page 15 of 84 (17%)
page 15 of 84 (17%)
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Like a brave old Vicar,
A famous sticker To Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus. He enjoys himself like a hearty boy Who finds his life for his needs the aptest; But the poisoned drop in his cup of joy Is the Revd. Joshua Fall, the Baptist, An earnest man with a tongue that stings-- The Vicar calls him a child of schism-- Who has dared to utter some dreadful things On the vices of sacerdotalism, And the ruination Of education By the Church of England Catechism. Set in a circle of oak and beech, North of the village lies Cragwell Hall; And stretching far as the eye can reach, Over the slopes and beyond the fall Of the hills so keeping their guard about it That the north wind never may chill or flout it, Through forests as dense as that of Arden, With orchard and park and trim-kept garden, And farms for pasture and farms for tillage, The Hall maintains its rule of the village. And in the Hall Lived the lord of all, Girt round with all that our hearts desire Of leisure and wealth, the ancient Squire. He was the purplest-faced old man |
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