Edwardsville spectator. [volume] (Edwardsville, Ill.) 1819-1826, 1821-12-25
POETRY.
DARBY AND JOAN.

Hnch IJalDN ostW tie Sciuir sun,
He swung bis seythe and home he run,
Sat down, drank Off his pint and said,
MY work is done, t'll go to bed.'
MY work is done ? retorted joan
MY work is done z your constant tone;
But hapless woman ne'er can say
.Siy work is DONE till Judgment dav.
Here Darby hemm'd and SCRATCHED is head,
To answer what his Joan had said
But all in vain, her clack kepton--
sYes, woman's work is never done!
You men can sleep all night, but we
Must toll Whose fault is that' quoth he.
II know your meaning Joan replied,
But, sir,m tongue shall not be tied;
twillgo on and let you know
Whatwork poor women have to do.
FIRST in the.morning, though we feel
AS sick as drunkarels when they reel.
Yes, feel such pains in back and head
Aswould coniine you men to bed;
We ply the brush, and WELD the broom;
We air the beds, and right the room,
The COWS must next be milk'd, and then,
We get the breakfast for the men;
Ere This is DER, with Whipping cries,
And brstly hair, the children rise:
They must be dress'd and dos'd with rue,
And fed, and all because ofvou,
We must. here Darby SCRATCHED his head
And last retrcated to his bed;
But grumbled this as on he run,
POUNDS women's clack is never doner
At early dawn ere Phubusros
Old Joan resum'd her tale of woes:
When Darby thus: I'll end the strife,
BE yop the man, and the wife,
Take you the the scythe, and NOW, while
viii a'lyour Boosting cares supply.
'Copen,' quoth Joan, give me my flint;'
Tliis Darby did, and out she went.
Old Darby rose, and seiz'd the broom.
And whirPd the dirt around the room;
Which having done, he scarce knew how,
H9 HE'D to milk the brindlcd COW.
The brindIed COW wbisk'd round her tail
In Darby's eyes, and kick the pail;
The clown perplex'd with grief and pain,
Swore he'd never try to milk again:
When turning round in sad amaze,
tle saw his cottage in blaze
. por he ,l.,,.,I
IN careless haste he fired The broom;
The fire at last suboiu'd, he swore
The broom and he would meet no more,
Pfess'd by misfortune and perplex'd,
Darby prepared for breakfast next,
But what to get he scarcely knew,
The bread was spent, the butter too.
Els hands bedaub'd with paste and -four,
Old Darby labor'd full an hour;
But hapiess wight he could not make
The bread take form of loaf or cake.
AS every door wide open stood,
In push'd the SOW in quest Of food,
And stumbling EDWARDS, with her snout
O'erset the churn--the cream ran cut.
As Darby mrn'd the SOW to beat, l.6
The sEpp'ry cream betrayal his feet;
He caught the bread trough in his fall,
And down came Darby trough and all.
The children waken'd by the clatter,
Start up and cry, La, what's the matter?
Old Jowler bark'd and Tabby mew'd,
And hapless Darby bawld aloud,
tReturn, my Joan, as heretofore,
III play the house wife's part no more;
Since now by sad experience taught,
Compar'd to thine my work is nought,
Henceforth, as business calls, rlltake
Content, the plough, the scythe, the rake,
And never more transgress the line 81
Our f;stes have mark'd, while thou art mine.
III vex thy honest soul no more
BY scoldinG as Pve done before:
Leteach our proper task attend
Forgive the past and try to mcnd.'
-seNO0ee@z----s
From the Newburyport Herald.
A CARD.
The subscriber respectfully informs
her friends and the public generally, tina,