Classic Poem

I.

This is the castle of old romance!
This is the hill where the muses sang,
When Merlin's harp, from the sea's expanse
Called the cold sea-maids from the dance,
And the echo in the sea-walls rang.

II.

And of later time, hark, the living word!
Like a trumpet rouse in the castle-close, —
Then the voice of Elias o Von was heard;
And to the heart the hills were stirred,
When a thousand sang, and the psalm arose.

III.

But now is the hour of other things;
Another note fills the castle square,
Where a motley minstrel sprawls and sings,
And his harp is strung with banjo strings,
While the patchouli swoons on the sea-salt air!

IV.

Banjo Obligato: Cockney Cadence: —

You may hear the girls declare,
As I walk around the square,
There's the man that broke the bank at Monte Carlo.

V.

This is the hour of the destined man,
Him that the elements winged and shod, —
The conquering cosmopolitan!
Behold, oh ancient mountain clan,
Behold the new hero, the new-found god!

VI.

And hark to his different litany,
And learn his Cockney's better part,
Who serves his maker by the sea,
With banjo and with patchouli,
So far beyond your Merlin's art!

VII.

Banjo Obligato: Cockney Cadence: —

You may hear the girls declare,
As I walk around the square,
I'm the man that broke the bank at Monte Carlo.