Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1898-12-01
A VISIT TO THE CAPITAL.

Respectfully dedicated to the Vermont
Legislature)
I've ben vlsitin' the capitol, for Job he
thot l must
Go down and view the splender and share
the upper crust,
So down went meanderin' about in mist
To witness the nobility and all the lordiy
train;
And somehow In my wanderin's, l lost my
bearin's quite,
So I folered up a crowd to a great big
house In white.
But whew! when / had entered, sech noise
and smoke and men,
I thot must be It's Barnum's and this
here Is his den
OF, I dassn't speak 1t out, for I'm afraid
it wouldn't please;
But l mean the little animiles, that
Jump about in trees.
Such jabberin' and grimacin', some COON
jest like doves,
understand it now. 1t wuz the feast of
loves.
There wuz all sorts of figgers that geo.
metry can boast;
The long and short, rotund and squair,
and, o. such host
OF shinln' crowns! with all their dearths
of want,
knew at once I'd found the Legislature
of Vermont.
Well ] follerd on in silence just gaspin'
for a breath.
Expectin' ever minnit to drop unto my
death;
When a fine lookin' Teller with Chester
feldin' bow
SEE: This is the House of Wisdom and
you may enter now.
With heart a bcatin' fast and with soft
and stately tread,
/ viewed the Hall of Wisdom with the
Speaker at the head:
And prtty soon he pounded with his CAB
bic long and loud;
And as they all come pourin In like
jolly school-boy crowd.
And they went to passin' bills, rite and
left, left and rite:
'Twuz eyes and nose and nose and eyes,
till wuz frightened quite;
But hung on to my nose and kept my
eyes intent
Till l got the run of things and knew
just what they ment.
And a tall young Teller wuz n readin al
the day,
'Twuz bills fer this and bills fer that
we'll hev bills enough to pay.
Pritty soon they begun to talk about pol
ishln' board;
They rubbed and scraped they polished
and they scored;
And the big man from Georgy he told how
hard we worked,
IT'LL my eyes begun to run and my nose
begun to jirk
And how the pore fellers from all over
this big State,
Come here a lobbyin' to keep their good
estate;
And how we wuz diggin' and scrapir
year by year
To get little Twin and our children wei
to rear.
Seq he: But for this board we could liz
down to rest
with no debts to trubble in the land OF
the Blest.
Then up jumps a man, SEE me- TITS q
monstrous tax, | know,
The fraction of a mill on dollar here
below!"
Then our fine Mister Speaker. I wu7
prouder of him then,
Just left the mercy seat and went right
down among his men.
And didn't he polish them, so beautiful
and neat?
II was food and drink to hear him and
the very best of meat;
SEE he: eve are the servants and ouI
masters may come here
And hey love-feast II they want and g
little of good cheer"
And I tho't to myself it's rare treat in
deed,
To hev such a servant in this, our time
need.
I grew an inch every hour and SEE
1--WE come to stay,
Better one day Of this. than Cicle o.
Kathay'
Then a member grew disguised and asked
that II might cease,
And the Governor he come runnin' In, t(
git q little piece.
And the gentleman from Georgy in lout
and thunderous roars.
Demanded all at once the eyes and thu
nose,
But the gentleman from Derby with {
coshentious twinge,
See: mo, indeed, you can't have min'
for 1t will make me cringe,"
So It went all the time. forth and back ant