This page has been validated.
THE RUPAIYAT OF OMAR KAL'VIN
[Allowing for the difference 'twixt prose and rhymed exaggeration, this ought to reproduce the sense of what Sir A —— told the nation some time ago, when the Government struck from our incomes two per cent.]
Now the New Year, reviving last Year's Debt,
The thoughtful Fisher casteth wide his Net;
So I with begging Dish and ready Tongue
Assail all Men for all that I can get.
Imports indeed are gone with all their Dues—
Lo! Salt a Lever that I dare not use,
Nor may I ask the Tillers in Bengal—
Surely my Kith and Kin will not refuse
Pay—and I promise by the Dust of Spring,
Retrenchment. If my promises can bring
Comfort, Ye have them now a thousand-fold—
By Allah! I will promise Anything!
50
