Classic Poem

Lowe and Bee Hold were actors twain in the days when the wars were young;
They played in the towns of the black-soil plain — and went to the red, unhung.
They played in the towns of the old stock route, and in sheds to " houses fair " ;
Till they worked their way to Narrandera and were badly stranded there.

Lowe and Bee Hold were man and wife, and their daughter played Little Nell
And Eva and Willie and all to life — and the rest of the frauds as well.
A red-headed boy, who had joined the co., played almost every thing.
(And the red-headed boy, if you'd like to know, with a struggling boss, is King!)

They worked their way with a horse and trap that carried their scenery;
And mostly trudged in the dust beside with their dog and their " company " ,
(The daughter " hacted Eliza " too, with the dog for a bloodhound grim —
He played for the bones of the mutton stew — and nothing mattered to him.)

Life was a farce and a comedy to the five (for the horse stood out),
Whether in winter's cold and slush or the dust and heat of drought;
Drought or flood (for tucker was sure), their wide world seemed all right
So long as they came to a waterhole or could get the camp fire alight.

Their life was a grisly tragedy, but none of them seemed aware,
Till they came, as I said, to Narrandera, and were badly stranded there.
'Twas the terrible nineteen-fourteen drought, of which you have all been told,
And things looked black for the sad old horse — and blue for Lowe and Bee Hold.

They camped that night on the river bank, where all was bare and dry;
And the dog crept into the mud to live, and the horse lay down to die.
The brave Bee Hold broke down at last — 'twas an old attack agen —
And the girl " took sick " and was queer in her head and, by God! they acted then!

Then Lowe stood up in the camp and clutched at his long, drought-faded hair;
He thrust his hands at the blazing stars, but he read no answer there.
And Bee sat down on the blanket roll, and never a word she spoke;
But the red-headed boy went into town to hunt for a doctor bloke.

A doctor came, and he did what he could — though he'd been the round of the bars.
(He left some silver upon a stump that shone in the light of the stars.)
But Lowe broke down, and he said to his wife: " Now, God help you and me!
There's only enough for the medicine, and we're out of tucker , Bee. "

But a teamster passed in the dawning hour who had nearly run his course,
And he slung the party a " fifty-flour " and some bran for the poor old horse!
" I must lighten me load for the pinch a bit, for me leader's nearly dead;
I remember seein' you actin' blokes somewheres up North, " he said.

Then a Bushman came on a swerving horse with a dismal cattle pup —
He stood in the shade of the river gums and he calmly asked, " What's up? "
He forced a couple of notes on Lowe, and he shortly said, " Good-day! "
And vanished into the red dust-storm on his hot, blasphe-mous way.

They had plenty of baking powder left; and Lowe stood up agen —
He'd have made a hit upon any stage had he acted as he did then!
" Now, hang the world and the universe! And bless our country, Bee;
Here is enough for the paper man and to rent the hall! " cried he.

He wrote all day and he wrote all night by the light of the hurricane lamp;
And the four rehearsed till they scared the blacks from that debil-debil camp!
The girl was quite recovered by this and the red-headed boy in form;
And they played three nights at Narrandera and they took the town by storm!

They thrived in the towns of the red-soil plains, and, later on, none could guess
In city suburbs — and cities, too — the reason of their success.
But you'll hear of them yet on the London boards, when the War is past and by,
In their Great Australian Dramatic Play: " When the Murrumbidgee's Dry " .