Classic Poem

DREW AND THE COMMODORE: A LEGEND OF THE STREET .

C ORNELIUS , the Great Cornerer,
A solemn oath he swore,
That in his trousers pockets he
Would put one railroad more.
And when he swore, he meant it,
That stout old Commodore.

Swear words have a significance
That makes one's marrow creep,
When launched by men whose early home
Has been upon the deep;
We think the old salt's briny oath
He easily can keep.

It served him well, the Commodore,
His battling with the breeze:
Knowing the ropes, he took and swung
The biggest line with ease, —
As one should do who all his life
Had been upon the seize.

Not following now the seas, instead
You saw him behind bays.
He almost always held a pair, —
And none were swift to raise:
Being on stocks, 't was plain that he
Must have his way and ways.

A railway king — ay, every inch,
And standing six feet high;
His arms all railway branches,
His arms all railway branches,
His feet all termini —
If you doubt me, there are his tracks
To witness if I lie!

He was the Hudson River's bed,
The Harlem's bed and Board,
The Central's too, — whose cattle-cars
Through half the country roared;
His pockets were the depots in
To which these railroads poured.

Such share of shares were quite enough
To serve a common mind,
But not the stout old Commodore's, —
He for an eyrie pined,
As though he were the eagle bird
By chance — and never blind.

But brooding on this Erie sat —
And quite on the same lay —
Good Drew, who, feathering his nest,
Affirmed, by yea and nay,
Before he 'd budge he 'd see them all —
Much farther than I 'll say.

Said he unto the Commodore,
" Your barque is on the sea,
But do not steer for Erie's ile,
Since that 's been struck by me.
Go, man of sin, and leave me here
To my Theology! "

To railroad men the dearest ties
On earth are railroad ties;
So little wonder Daniel spoke
In anger and surprise.
Tears would not flow; the Commodore,
It seems, had dammed his eyes.

" When Greek meets Greek, then comes the tug — "
Which is all wrong, you know.
Unfriendly fires burn fast enough
Without the help of tow, —
Especially when Coke is on,
And several lawyers blow.

Such eerie sights, such eerie sounds
Came from this Erie crew,
It seemed, indeed, a den of Lines
Prepared for Daniel — Drew!
Not strange that he at last resolved
To make his own ado.

Fleeing from jars — perhaps the jug —
He thought of foreign lands,
And to his brethren said, " Arise,
These Bonds put off our hands;
We will into New Jersey, where
My Seminary stands. "

'T was thus Drew's barque — and eke his bite —
Fell on the Jersey shore;
Shut in by Fate as by a gate —
Or by a Commodore.
There was no drewbridge in the land,
On which he could cross o'er.

The gage of war that he threw down,
A " broad-gauge " — and a free —
Was picked up by the Commodore,
A gauger great, per sea;
Who as he liked could get and hold
The weather-gage or lee.

'T was plain that if in the tournay
Where these queer knights did tilt,
The Commodore should keep his seat
And Drew should be the spilt,
Drew might make tracks, but Erie would
Thenceforth be Vander-built.

While if, in drawing to his hand,
The Commodore did not
Quite fill his flush, and Drew's draw should
Beat him but by a spot,
He 'd lose his age and lose the deal,
And Drew would take the pot.

Just how the joust did terminate
Nobody knows nor cares;
No need to ask how fares the fight
When two fight for our fares,
And whiche'er one does win will plough
The public with his shares!

We scarce did sing, Long live the Ring!
But Daniel long lived he, —
Until his School conferred on him
Exceeding high degree;
Doubling his D's until, indeed,
He was, at last, D — D!

As for the stout old railway King,
Who once did rule the wave, —
And sometimes rather waived the rule
Odd tricks to serve or save, —
In games like this, to me the King
Looks very like the Knave!