Part 24 (1/2)
took her to see everything worth looking at, and made a rhyming diary for her which he called--
MAGGIE'S VISIT TO OXFORD.
When Maggie once to Oxford came On tour as ”Bootle's Baby,”
She said: ”I'll see this place of fame, However dull the day be!”
So with her friend she visited The sights that it was rich in, And first of all she poked her head Inside the Christ Church Kitchen.
The cooks around that little child Stood waiting in a ring; And every time that Maggie smiled, Those cooks began to sing-- Shouting the Battle-cry of Freedom!
”Roast, boil, and bake, For Maggie's sake!
Bring cutlets fine For _her_ to dine; Meringues so sweet For _her_ to eat-- For Maggie may be Bootle's Baby.”
There are a great many verses describing her walks and what she saw, among other wonders ”a lovely p.u.s.s.y Cat.”
And everywhere that Maggie went That Cat was sure to go-- Shouting the Battle-cry of Freedom!
”Miaow! Miaow!
Come make your bow!
Take off your hats, Ye p.u.s.s.y Cats!
And purr and purr To welcome _her_-- For Maggie may be Bootle's Baby!”
So back to Christ Church-not too late For them to go and see A Christ Church Undergraduate, Who gave them cakes and tea.
In Magdalen Park the deer are wild With joy that Maggie brings Some bread, a friend had given the child, To feed the pretty things.
They flock round Maggie without fear, They breakfast and they lunch, They dine, they sup, those happy deer-- Still as they munch and munch, Shouting the Battle-cry of Freedom!
”Yes, deer are we, And dear is she.
We love this child So sweet and mild: We all are fed With Maggie's bread-- For Maggie may be Bootle's Baby!”
They met a Bishop on their way-- A Bishop large as life-- With loving smile that seemed to say ”Will Maggie be my wife?”
Maggie thought _not_, because you see She was so _very_ young, And he was old as old could be-- So Maggie held her tongue.
”My Lord, she's Bootle's Baby; we Are going up and down,”
Her friend explained, ”that she may see The sights of Oxford-town.”
”Now, say what kind of place it is!”
The Bishop gayly cried, ”The best place in the Provinces!”
The little maid replied.