The Independent. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1895-1905, 1897-04-20
The aetalong-go Grace.

Getalong-go is an island in the
South Pacific Seas,
Whore the King, although despot,
let his subjects live at ease;
Till some notions he adopted on
European tour
Made his sceptre, for season, rather
trying to endure.
For he CHANGED to visit England,
and developing a craze
For the open-air amusements which
beguile our summer days,
To impress on Getalong-go the adj
vantages Of sport
On returning from his journey he at
once convened his Court.
Said His Majesty, "Your lordships,
it doth greatly Us displease
That Our people spend their leisure
in repose beneath the trees;
We decree that they in future from
this habit do refrain,
And devote themselves to pastimes
which we forthwith shall explain"
Then he spoke to them Of swim
ming, boating, bicycling and
bowls,
Golf most happily describing as a
game OF sticks and holes;
And he lightly touched on tennis,
running, jumping, putting shot,
Till the thought Of such exertion
made his auditors quite hot.
DIT tbo,,r,k al Iboso .ooso.I;o,. L Z,
enthusiasm fred,
1t was evidently cricket that the
monarch most admired;
For he frankly said that even abdi-
cation he'd embrace,
Could posterity but know him as
the Getalong-go Grace.
Then he told how he'd contracted
with some leading London firms
To consign to Getalong-go, on ex-
tremely easy terms,
All the requisites for cricket and the
other sports he'd named;
And cheque to pay expenses from
his treasury he claimed.
In conclusion, he commanded that
InTOuEuOuU LIS udtlN0 1918
Clubs should everywhere be started
in very little while;
And he promised that the captain
he himself would deign to be-
OF club he meant to model on the
London M. @. @.
So before six weeks were over every
able bodied male
To devote his daily leisure to athlet-
les dare not fail;
But, while other pastimes hourished
it was cricket that became,
Thanks, of course, to Royal favor,
the most fashionable game.
For the monarch kept his promise,
and his team was so complete
That they played each island village
and each village duly beat;
For when scoring was too heavy by
the club the King opposed,
His procedure was most simple-he
declared their innings closed.
And he never left the wicket till a
century or more
BY the vigour of his batting, he had
added to the score;
Though for this he was indebted,
there is very little doubt,
To the terror OF the feldsmen lest
they got their monarch out.
For they knew he was a despot, and
they feared the awful fate
Which the luckless wight who
caught him would quite certain
ly await;
Whilst the bowlers told the umpires
that before his balls could fall,
If they saw that he was beaten they
must cry at once, "No ballW
But, alas for human nature, while
he strove so hard to please,
Some, though secretly, revolted at
conditions such as these;
Fen the team he captained grumbl-
ed that at practice twas his within
They should always do the fielding,
and batting leave to him.
And the peoples indignation rose at
length to such height
That conference was summoned in
the middle OF the night,
And leading civil servant, who'd
accumulated wealth,
Took trip ere long to London, "to
recruit his failing health"
There he sought famous bowler
at the moment out on strike
Whom he offered his Expenses" and
whatever pay he'd like,
To proceed to Getalong-go to OPP
pose their Royal Grace
L Il L 4