Ben King's Verse. Benjamin Franklin King
An' never be absent from school.
Remember the story of Elihu Burritt,
An' how he clum up to the top,
Got all the knowledge 'at he ever had
Down in a blacksmithing shop?
Jane Jones she honestly said it was so!
Mebbe he did--
I dunno!
O' course what's a-keepin' me 'way from the top,
Is not never havin' no blacksmithing shop.
She said 'at Ben Franklin was awfully poor,
But full of ambition an' brains;
An' studied philosophy all his hull life,
An' see what he got for his pains!
He brought electricity out of the sky,
With a kite an' a bottle an' key,
An' we're owing him more'n any one else
For all the bright lights 'at we see.
Jane Jones she honestly said it was so!
Mebbe he did--
I dunno!
O' course what's allers been hinderin' me
Is not havin' any kite, lightning, er key.
Jane Jones said Abe Lincoln had no books at all
An' used to split rails when a boy;
An' General Grant was a tanner by trade An' lived way out in Ill'nois.
So when the great war in the South first broke out
He stood on the side o' the right,
An' when Lincoln called him to take charge o' things,
He won nearly every blamed fight.
Jane Jones she honestly said it was so!
Mebbe he did--
I dunno!
Still I ain't to blame, not by a big sight,
For I ain't never had any battles to fight.
She said 'at Columbus was out at the knees
When he first thought up his big scheme,
An' told all the Spaniards 'nd Italians, too,
An' all of 'em said 'twas a dream.
But Queen Isabella jest listened to him,
'Nd pawned all her jewels o worth,
'Nd bought him the Santa Maria 'nd said,
"Go hunt up the rest o' the earth!"
Jane Jones she honestly said it was so!
Mebbe he did--
I dunno!
O' course that may be, but then you must allow
They ain't no land to discover jest now!
Elopement
I'm out at the home of my Mary,
Mary so young and so fair,
But her father and mother
And sister and brother
And all of the family are there.
I'm now on the sofa with Mary,
Mary with bright, golden hair;
But her father and mother
And sister and brother
And all of the family are there.
I'm way up the river with Mary,
Picnicking in the cool air;
But her father and mother
And sister and brother
And all of the family are there.
I'm in the surf bathing with Mary;
Her form is beyond compare;
But her father and mother
And sister and brother
And all of the family are there.
I'm down at the parson's with Mary;
It's rather a private affair;
But her father and mother
And sister and brother
Well--none of the family is there.
Her Folks An' Hiz'n
He maird her 'cause she had money an' some
Property left from 'er husband's income;
But both of the families was awfully stirred,
An' said the worst things 'at the town ever heard.
En her folks an' hiz'n,
Er hiz'n an' her'n,
Never spoke to each other,
From what I can learn.
His folks begun it an' jest said 'at she
Was the worst actin' thing they ever did see;
An' out to be ashamed fer bein' so bold,
'Cause her husband he hadn't had time to get cold.
En her folks an' hiz'n,
Er hiz'n an' her'n,
Never spoke to each other,
From what I can learn.
Her folks they all set up 'at he was no good,
An' if 'twasn't for her--well, he'd have to saw wood.
Then all of her kin, every blased relation,
Said she'd lowered herself in their estimation.
So her folks an' hiz'n,
Er hiz'n an' her'n,
Never spoke to each other,
From what I can learn.
The sisters they told--this is 'tween you and I--
'At they thought she wanted her husband to die:
An' they whispered around--but don't you lisp a
word--
The awfulest things that a soul ever heard.
So her folks an' hiz'n,
Er hiz'n an' her'n,
Never spoke to each other,
From what I can learn.
They said that a travelin' man er a drummer,
Who stopped at the hotel a long time last summer,
That he--no it wasn't that now--let me see--
That she--er something like that, seems to me.
Well, her folks an' hiz'n,
Er hiz'n an' her'n,
Never spoke to each other,
From what I can learn.
I hear 'at the families keep up the old fight,
A-roastin' each other from mornin' till night;
But the young maird couple they've moved to the city,
Where gossip don't go; but I think it a pity
That her folks an' hiz'n,
An' hiz'n an' her'n,
Never