THE RAVIN'.

NZ Truth, Issue 123, 26 October 1907, Page 5

THE RAVIN.

Once as on an evening dreary, by the fire with eyes all bleary, Feeling twice as sick and weary as I ever felt before. Suddenly I heard a moaning, just a faint and gentle groanin" Three short words were softly droning .thro' the key-hole of the door, . Droning like a dreamland whisper thro' the key-hole of the door, And these words were "Just one more !" First me thought that I was dreaming, that these words were only . seeming, But I scarce could keep from screaming when I looked round to the door, For a prim and ghostly monkey, stepping slowly like a flunkey, (Like a powdered valet slunk he) o-lided. calmly o'er the floor, Saying oaly, "Just one more !" Stiff with fear I watched him gliding gently, calmly, softly sliding, Never for a moment biding m the place he was before ; Till with many a bound and frisk he reached the place I kept my wbisky, And fey feats both* hard and risky brought the bottle to the floor. Brought it from the top most shelf placed it quickly on the floor, G-ladly saying, "Just one more !" Ye I ask who read these pages, be ye fool or be ye sages, Thro' the dark uncounted ages that we call "the days of yore," Have ye heard of monkeys talking while across a bedroom walking Towards a whisky bottle stalking ? *•• I have not, tho' versed m lore ; Versed m many an ancient fragment of the worlds forgotten lore ; Yet this one said, "Just bn« " more !" Then I found my voice and speaking. hut m tones tooth faint and squeaking, Said I, animal this sneaking will not do, go out the door, But he laughed, and said my joker, tell me are you a smoker ? ' Then I hit him with the poker, and he vanished thro' the floor, Vanished with a whiff of sulphur thro' the carpet oh the floor, Sadly saying, "Not one more." Straight I rushed to my physician, and I told him of my vision, And the learned nian's decision tourt mv soul as ne'er before. He spoke, about some ism, quoted many a learned schism, Said you will have to seek teetotalism if you wish no more to see Moakevs coming thro' the key-hole of the door And across your bedroom walking, while towards a whisky bottle stalking. And remarking, "Just one more !" -MURAL. Awakino.