Once out of town went big John Brown,
A Sunday man so gay;
He went with his life, and he went with his wife,
And he went with his kids in a shay!
The shay was like a lottery prize—
Exceedingly hard to _draw_;
And John Brown looked with both his eyes
As _blank_ as ever you saw.
Oh! very hot the summer's sun
Shone over Somers town;
By sweat—not slander—John was soon
Exceedingly run down!
With piping heat he plied his drag,
While sinews paid the piper;
At Highgate Hill his handkerchief
Was turned into a "viper."
He gave his family "a long
And strong pull altogether;"
But they in spite of sunshine soon
Gave signs o£ _squally_ weather.
John's wife survey'd her lord and shay
With most maternal mind;
She'd never such a load _before_,
And so she push'd _behind_!
So on they trudged: no half-way house
Afforded them a sup,
But about half-way up the hill
John found it was "_all up_."
With agony he used his sleeve,
And gasping, cried, "I'm blow'd!"
"What then befel the Browns?" I b'lieve
_They're still upon the road!_
[Illustration: Rains and drains.]