Classic Poem

Easter Day was a holiday,
Of all days in the year;
And all the little schoolfellows went out to play,
But Sir William was not there.

Mamma went to the Jew's wife's house,
And knocked at the ring,
Saying, “Little Sir William, if you are there,
Oh! let your mother in!”

The Jew's wife opened the door and said,
“He is not here to-day;
He is with the little schoolfellows out on the green,
Playing some pretty play.”

Mamma went to the Boyne water,
That is so wide and deep,
Saying, “Little Sir William, if you are there,
Oh! pity your mother's weep!”

“How can I pity your weep, mother,
And I so long in pain?
For the little penknife sticks close in my heart,
And the Jew's wife has me slain.

“Go home, go home, my mother dear,
And prepare my winding sheet;
For to-morrow morning before eight o'clock,
You with my body shall meet.

“And lay my Prayer-book at my head,
And my grammar at my feet;
That all the little schoolfellows, as they pass by,
May read them for my sake.”