THE BALLAD OF MINEPIT SHAW ABOUT the time that taverns shut And men can buy no beer, Night and the liquor was in their heads- They had killed a hart, they had killed a hind, Ready to carry away, When they heard a whimper down the wind And they heard a bloodhound bay. They took and ran across the fern, Till they met a man with a green lantern "What are ye doing, O Flesh and Blood, That you must break into Minepit Wood "Oh, we've broke into Lord Pelham's park, "We ask you let us go our way, As fast as we can flee, For if ever you heard a bloodhound bay, "Oh, lay your crossbows on the bank And drop the knife from your hand, They laid their crossbows on the bank, "Oh, what's the roaring in our ears That strikes us well-nigh dumb?" "Oh, that is just how things appears According as they come." "What are the stars before our eyes That strike us well-nigh blind?" "Oh, that is just how things arise According as you find." "And why's our bed so hard to the bones Excepting where it's cold?" "Oh, that's because it is precious stones Excepting where 'tis gold. "Think it over as you stand, If All night long they thought of it And the keepers' hound had followed 'em close And broke her neck in the fall; So they picked up their knives and their crossbows And buried the dog. That's all. But whether the man was a poacher too Or a Pharisee so bold I reckon there's more things told than are true, And more things true than are told. |