Classic Poem

Good Dry Lodgings: According to Beranger, Songster

My dwelling is ample,
And I've set an example
For all lovers of wine to follow
If my home you should ask,
I have drain'd out a cask,
And I dwell in the fragrant hollow!
A disciple am I of Diogenes —
O! his tub a most classical lodging is!
'Tis a beautiful alcove for thinking;
Tis, besides, a cool grotto for drinking:
Moreover, the parish throughout
You can readily roll it about.
O! the berth
For a lover of mirth
To revel in jokes, and to lodge in ease,
Is the classical tub of Diogenes!

In politics I'm no adept,
And into my tuo when I've crept,
They may canvass in vain for my vote.
For besides, after all the great cry and hubbub,
Reform gave no " ten pound franchise " to my tub
So your " bill " I don't value a groat!
And as for that idol of filth and vulgarity,
Adorned now-a-days, and yclept Popularity,
To my home
Should it come,
And my hogshead's bright aperture darken,
Think not to such summons I'd hearken.
No! I'd say to that goule grim and gaunt,
Vile phantom, avaunt!
Get thee out of my sight!
For thy clumsy opacity shuts out the light
Of the gay glorious sun
From my classical tun,
Where a hater of cant and a lover of fun
Fain would revel in mirth, and would lodge in ease —
The classical tub of Diogenes!

In the park of St. Cloud there stares at you
A pillar or statue
Of my liege, the philosopher cynical:
There he stands on a pinnacle,
And his lantern is placed on the ground,
While, with both eyes fixed wholly on
The favourite haunt of Napoleon,
" A MAN ! " he exclaims, " by the powers, I have found! "
But for me, when at eve I go sauntering
On the boulevards of Athens, " Love " carries my lantern;
And, egad! though I walk most demurely,
For a man I'm not looking full surely;
Nay, I'm sometimes brought drunk home,
Like honest Jack Reeve, or like honest Tom Duncombe.
O! the nest
For a lover of jest
To revel in fun, and to lodge in ease,
Is the classical tub of Diogenes;EnglishPierre Jean de B├®ranger