A Little Mistake
'Tis a yarn I heard of a new-chum " trap "
On the edge of the Never-Never,
Where the dead men lie and the black men lie,
And the bushman lies for ever.
'Twas the custom still with the local blacks
To cadge in the " altogether " —
They had less respect for our feelings then,
And more respect for the weather.
The trooper said to the sergeant's wife:
" Sure, I wouldn't seem unpleasant;
But there's women and childer about the place,
And — barrin' a lady's present —
" There's ould King Billy wid niver a stitch
For a month — may the drought cremate him! —
Bar the wan we put in his dhirty head,
Where his old Queen Mary bate him.
" God give her strength! — and a peaceful reign —
Though she flies in a bit av a passion
If ony wan hints that her shtoyle an' luks
Are a trifle behind the fashion.
" There's two of the boys by the stable now —
Be the powers! I'll teach the varmints
To come wid nought but a shirt apiece
And wid dirt for their nayther garmints.
" Howld on, ye blaggards! How dare ye dare
To come widin sight av the houses? —
I'll give ye a warnin' all for wance
An' a couple of ould pair of trousers. "
They took the pants as a child a toy,
The constable's words beguiling
A smile of something beside their joy;
And they took their departure smiling.
And that very day, when the sun was low,
Two blackfellows came to the station;
They were filled with the courage of Queensland rum
And bursting with indignation.
The constable noticed, with growing ire,
They'd apparently dressed in a hurry;
And their language that day, I am sorry to say,
Mostly consisted of " plurry " .
The constable heard, and he wished himself back
In the land of the bogs and the ditches —
" You plurry big tight-britches p'liceman, what for
You gibbit our missuses britches? "
And this was a case, I am bound to confess,
Where civilization went under;
Had one of the gins been less modest in dress
He'd never have made such a blunder.
And here let the moral be duly made known,
And hereafter signed and attested:
We should place more reliance on that which is shown
And less upon what is suggested.
On the edge of the Never-Never,
Where the dead men lie and the black men lie,
And the bushman lies for ever.
'Twas the custom still with the local blacks
To cadge in the " altogether " —
They had less respect for our feelings then,
And more respect for the weather.
The trooper said to the sergeant's wife:
" Sure, I wouldn't seem unpleasant;
But there's women and childer about the place,
And — barrin' a lady's present —
" There's ould King Billy wid niver a stitch
For a month — may the drought cremate him! —
Bar the wan we put in his dhirty head,
Where his old Queen Mary bate him.
" God give her strength! — and a peaceful reign —
Though she flies in a bit av a passion
If ony wan hints that her shtoyle an' luks
Are a trifle behind the fashion.
" There's two of the boys by the stable now —
Be the powers! I'll teach the varmints
To come wid nought but a shirt apiece
And wid dirt for their nayther garmints.
" Howld on, ye blaggards! How dare ye dare
To come widin sight av the houses? —
I'll give ye a warnin' all for wance
An' a couple of ould pair of trousers. "
They took the pants as a child a toy,
The constable's words beguiling
A smile of something beside their joy;
And they took their departure smiling.
And that very day, when the sun was low,
Two blackfellows came to the station;
They were filled with the courage of Queensland rum
And bursting with indignation.
The constable noticed, with growing ire,
They'd apparently dressed in a hurry;
And their language that day, I am sorry to say,
Mostly consisted of " plurry " .
The constable heard, and he wished himself back
In the land of the bogs and the ditches —
" You plurry big tight-britches p'liceman, what for
You gibbit our missuses britches? "
And this was a case, I am bound to confess,
Where civilization went under;
Had one of the gins been less modest in dress
He'd never have made such a blunder.
And here let the moral be duly made known,
And hereafter signed and attested:
We should place more reliance on that which is shown
And less upon what is suggested.
Translation:
Language:
Reviews
No reviews yet.