attacked the big oyster,
It had to fight a numerous foe,
Of these shell fish a whole cluster.
Borne feathers on briny billow,
They were full of springy down,
And they made a glorious pillow,
Where fellow he could rest his crown.
This chap he did not plow nor sow,
But from sea and land he did reap
The wealth that others caused to grow,
And thus he treasures up did heap.
Baby Darling
A miner in California mine,
For his distant home he did repine,
In a far off Eastern state,
Where did live his own dear mate.
And one great source of all his joy,
His little darling baby boy,
One night to drive his cares away
To concert hall his footsteps stray.
And loud resounding o’er the hall,
He heard a little boy squall,
The sweetest music he e’er heard,
Sweeter far than singing bird.
For his thoughts it caused to roam,
To his distant eastern home,
Near to the mine there were no trace
Of baby dear or woman’s face.
When violinist with his bow
Did make exquisite music flow,
The miner he did loudly bawl
Stop fiddle and let baby squall.
My sad heart his cries doth cheer,
Reminding me of my own dear,
For sooner I would him behold,
Than if I found a mine of gold.
For what are all the joys of life,
So far away from child and wife,
But few more months I will stay here
Then join my wife and baby dear.
Riding an Avalanche
With our Canadian snow shoes,
O’er snow you walk where’er you choose,
But on long shoes Norwegian
They are like narrow toboggan.
And all your movements you control
By the aid of a stout long pole,
With it you balance or propel
But we show now what once befell.
Two miners full of pluck and game,
Wished to locate a mining claim,
On a high steep mountain crest
In Colorado of the West.
Though snow was deep they would attempt
Their good mine for to pre-empt,
So up the mountain they do climb,
Covered o’er with snow and rime.
Norwegian shoes slide over the snow,
High and higher still they go,
One was two hundred yards ahead,
Till snow gives way where he doth tread.
Which quickly starts an avalanche,
He seizes on a stout tree branch,
But all in vain he rushes fast,
His snow shoes in the avalanche.
His friend on shoes Norwegian,
Like lightning down the hill he ran,
Or rather o’er the ice did glide
Down the long steep and glassy slide.
And after him the Avalanche,
Tearing up trees both root and branch,
The man on Avalanche doth yell
To his friend you are doing well.
With your shoes Norwegian,
Swifter than a toboggan,
Go on, go on, you’ll win the race,
For we are slack’ning in our pace.
But, alas! poor runner feels
The Avalanche doth touch his heels,
Shall he be buried in the mass,
Or will the vast pile o’er him pass.
He stops quite sudden ’neath a rock,
It passed o’er him with mighty shock,
Though it did cause him great alarm,
Yet still he was all safe from harm.
The Avalanche yet downward slides,
And his friend on it he rides,
Until it safely him doth launch
On outer edge of his own ranch.
After three miles down the gulch,
They both might have been crushed to mulch,
The one he seemed to run a race,
While one on Avalanche did chase.
But it was not for bravado,
One rode, one run in Colorado,
For it was desperate the strife
Each had for to secure his life.
This tale of shoes Norwegian
Is not for the collegian,
But for such youths as do take pride
In reading of a wondrous slide.
Final Address to Our Patrons
Now to our friends who proved so true,
We bid you for short time adieu.
Card of Thanks to the Press
It is folly now to aim
Or to seek for distant fame,
But rest content if we can claim
Something of a local name.
On the pleasant banks of Thame,
Because in simple strains we sung
The glories of this country young.
Of cows, and milk, and cream and cheese
And of fat steers sent o’er the seas,
Of horses plowing land with ease,
Of hogs and sheep and hens and bees,
Themes worthy of our songs and glees.
Lines on Canada
A land o’er flowing with milk and honey
Where the industrious may gather money,
Here men do not rank for wealth they inherit,
The stamp of nobility is one of merit.
Though we cannot boast of antiquities old
We truly can boast of mines of pure gold,
And the discoveries at Fraser River
Hudson Bay monopoly to pieces will shiver.
For Britain at present little would move her
To present to Canada Hudson Bay and Vancouver,
Then she would be a yoang giant empire
As great as a Briton could well desire.
Then with the whole of British America
United by railroad as well as by law,
Proudly we might with banners unfurled
Proclaim her the great highway of the world.
The Glorious Land of Maple Leaf
Come let us join the tuneful throng
And sing a new Canadian song,
As this great lands of woods and lakes
Sweet melody in us awakes,
For of all land this is the chief
This glorious land of maple leaf.
It is land of streams and rivers
And the land of toiling beavers,
More noble emblems we rely on
Than preying eagle, bear or lion,
True, worthy honours are not brief,
But flourish shall the maple leaf.
For the grand maple wood is strong
And labour ranks high in our song
So let us glory in our soil
Where nature doth reward for toil,
And ever banish all our grief
Rejoicing in our maple leaf.
With gloom we should not be o’ercast
For we have a young empire vast,
Awaiting only for the plough
When all with wealth it will endow,
Then of all lands ’twill be the chief
This glorious land of maple leaf.
Canadian Cheese Trade
When Ranney left his native state
With his industrious, skilful mate,
They settled down in Dereham
Then, no dairymen lived near them.
It sailed with triumph o’er the seas,
’Twas hailed with welcome queen of cheese.
Early and bright in bygone years
One of a noble form appears,
Resolved the milk flood shall go forth
Flowing o’er his county to the north,
Now Perth has cheese crop large and fine
Thanks to cheese champion Ballantyne.
