THE BISHOP AND THE BUSMAN.
The Bishop said, said he,
"I'll see what I can do
ToChristianize and make you wise,
You poor benighted Jew."
So every blessed day
That bus he rode outside,
FromFulham town, both up and down,
And loudly thus he cried:—
"His name isHash Baz Ben,
AndJedediah too,
AndSolomon andZabulon—
This bus-directing Jew."
At first the busman smiled,
And rather liked the fun—
He merely smiled, thatHebrew child,
And said, "Eccentric one!"
And gay young dogs would wait
To see the bus go by
(These gay young dogs in striking togs)
To hear the Bishop cry:—
"Observe his grisly beard
His race it clearly shows,
He sticks no fork in ham or pork—
Observe, my friends, his nose."
"His name isHash Baz Ben,
AndJedediah, too,
AndSolomon andZabulon—
This bus-directing Jew."
But though at first amused,
Yet after seven years,
This Hebrew child got awful riled,
And busted into tears.
He really almost feared
To leave his poor abode,
His nose, and name, and beard became
A byword on that road.
At length he swore an oath,
The reason he would know—
"I'll call and see why ever he
Does persecute me so."
The good old bishop sat
On hisancestral chair,
The busman came, sent up his name,
And laid his grievance bare.
"Benighted Jew," he said,
(And chuckled loud with joy)
"Be Christian, you, instead of Jew—
Become a Christian boy.
"I'll ne'er annoy you more."
"Indeed?" replied the Jew.
"Shall I be freed?" "You will, indeed!"
Then "Done!" said he, "with you!"
The organ which, in man,
Between the eyebrows grows,
Fell from his face, and in its place
He found a Christian nose.
His tangled Hebrew beard,
Which to his waist came down,
Was now a pair of whiskers fair—
His name,Adolphus Brown.
He wedded in a year,
That prelate's daughterJane;
He's grown quite fair—has auburn hair—
His wife is far from plain.