UNITED IRELAND

Though Hibernians for long in dissension have dwelt

( As a dog that resides with a cat ),

There's a bond that the Saxon allies to the Celt —

They are perfectly solid on that!

And if ever their union is marred by a flaw,

It is due to the craven who shrinks

From proclaiming aloud the immutable law,

That he ought not to pay for his drinks.

They have differed at times on the theme of Repeal

( As I gather from platform and press ),

And the language they used in their patriot zeal

Was intended to wound and distress:

But at last they are joined by a brotherly love,

And his anger the patriot sinks,

For his eloquence now is directed to prove

That he ought not to pay for his drinks.

There were times when the payment that landlords demand

Was a source of continual woe,

When the tenant preferred to adhere to his land,

And the agent preferred him to go:

When their claims to adjust and the balance to strike

Was a riddle to baffle the Sphinx,—

But they're reconciled now, by resolving alike

That they never will pay for their drinks.

There's an influence soft, which has calmed and assuaged

The contentions of Orange and Green:

It has silenced the wars that were formerly waged

In Committee Room Number Fifteen:

For in Cork and Belfast they're united at last

By the strongest and surest of links,

And together they go for the Sassenach foe

Who has asked them to pay for their drinks!