A DEMAGOGUE

“Yawp, yawp, yawp!

Under the moon and sun.

It's aye the rabble,

And I to gabble,

And hey! for the tale that is never done.

“Chant, chant, chant!

To woo the reluctant vote.

I would I were dead

And my say were said

And my song were sung to its ultimate note.

“Stab, stab, stab!

Ah! the weapon between my teeth —

I'm sick of the flash of it;

See how the slash of it

Misses the foeman to mangle the sheath!

“Boom, boom, boom!

I'm beating the mammoth drum.

My nethermost tripes

I blow into the pipes —

It's oh! for the honors that never come!”

‘ Twas the dolorous blab

Of a tramping “scab” —

‘ Twas the eloquent Swift

Of the marvelous gift —

The wild, weird, wonderful gift of gab!