The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1881-07-07
The Comet,

About 40 years ago, when the astronomers had
predicted the appearance of the comet which came
within the observation of the people OF our earth
in lS43, DR. Oliver Wendell Holmes delighted the
people OF that day and generation with the fol
lowing humorous poem, which served an excellent
purpose at the time to allay the fears of the timid
and furnish intellectual enjoyment to those who
could appreciate the wit and sentiment which it en-
bodies, combined with an excellent moral lesson ::
The comet he is on his way,
Ard singing as he flies;
The whiZzing planets shrink before
The spectre of the skies.
All well NAV regal orbs turn blue
And satellites turn pale,
! Ten million cubic miles of head,
Ten billion leagues of tail !
On. on by whistling spheres of light
He flashes and he flames
He turns not to the left nor right
He asks them not their names
One spurn from his demonlac heel, -
Away away they fly,
Where darkness might be bottled up
And sold for "Tyran dye"
And what would happen to the land,
And how would look the sea-
If in the bearded DEVILS path
Our earth should chance to be
Full hot and high the sea would boil.
Full red the forests CLEAN;
Methought saw and heard it all
In dyspeptic dream
saw a tutor take his tube
The comets course to spy;
heard scream-the gathered rays
Had stewed the tutors eye;
saw fort-the soldiers all
Were armed with goggles green:
Pop cracked the guns Whiz flew the balls
Bang went the magazine
! saw poet dip a scroll
Each moment in tub
| read upon the warping back,
The Dream of BeelZebub :"
He could not see his verses burn,
Because his brain was fried,
And ever and anon he bent
10 wet them as they dried
| saw the scaling pitch roll down
The cracking, sweating pines
And streams of smoke, like water spouts
Burst through the Tumbling mines;
| asked the tiremen why they made
Such noise about the town;
They answered not, but all the while
The brakes went up and down
| saw a roasting pullet sit
pom baking egg;
| saw cripple scorch his hand
distinguishing his leg
| saw nine geese upon the wing
Toward the frozen pole,
And every mothers gosng fell
EriSped to a cracking coal
| saw the OK that browsed the grass
Writhe in the blistering rays,
The heritage in his shrinking Jaws
Was all fiery blaze
| saw huge fishes, boiled to rags
Bob through the bubbling brine
And thoughts of supper crossed my sou! -
had been rash at mine
Strange sights strange sounds fearful dream
It's memory haunts me STILL
| The Steaming sea, the crimson glare,
That wreathed each wooded hill
Stranger if through thy Keeling brain
Such midnight visions sweep
Spare, spare, q, spare thine evening meal,
And sweet shall be thy sleep
Observations of Rev. Gabe Tucker
You may notch it on de palms as mighty resky
plan
To make your Judgment by de coes dat kivers up
man
For hardly needs to tell you how you often come
Y fifty dollar saddle on ii twenty dollar boss
An wukin in de low groun 3, you diskver as you
Dat de tines shuck may hide de meaues nubbin in
i think man has got mighty slender chance fol
Hebcn
Dat holds on to his piety but one day out Oh seben
Dat talks about de sinners wild heap o solemn chat
An nebbcr draps nickel in de missionary hat;
OATS foremost in de meetin house for raisn all dc
chimes,
But lays aside his ligion Wild his Sunday panta
looms
nebber Judge o people dat | meets along de way
BY de places whar dey come tum an de houses
whar dey stay
For de bantam chickens awful fond o roosin
pretty high
An de turkey buzzard sails above de eagle in de
sky;
Dey ketches little Winners in the middle oh de sea
An you finds de stnalles' 'possum up de bigges
/ kird o tree
ii. A Macon, "Bric Brae" Seribner for July