GOOD pastry is vended
In Cité Fadette;
_Maison Pons_ can make splendid
_Brioche_ and _galette_.
_M’sieu Pons_ is so fat that
He’s laid on the shelf;
_Madame_ had a Cat that
Was fat as herself.
Long hair, soft as satin,
A musical purr,
’Gainst the window she’d flatten
Her delicate fur.
I drove Lou to see what
Our neighbours were at,
In rapture, cried she, “What
An exquisite cat!
“What whiskers! She’s purring
All over. Regale
Our eyes, _Puss_, by stirring
Thy feathery tail!
“_M’sieu Pons_, will you sell her?”
“_Ma femme est sortie_,
Your offer I’ll tell her;
But will she?” says he.
Yet _Pons_ was persuaded
To part with the prize:
(Our bargain was aided,
My Lou, by your eyes!)
From his _légitime_ save him,—
_My_ spouse I prefer,
For I warrant _his_ gave him
_Un mauvais quart d’heure_.
I am giving a pleasant
Grimalkin to Lou,
—Ah, _Puss_, what a present
I’m giving to you!
_Frederick Locker-Lampson._