stand alone on the moonlit spot,--
Sing Ho--ho! and Ha--ha! there!
One is the villain, and one is not,
But the heroine's father.
They stand alone on the patch of light
(Which comes from the left as well as right)--
Oh, 'tis a glorious place and night
For a Murder Scene! Rather!

They talk of deeds (of the parchment kind)--
Sing Ha--ha! and Ho-ho! there!
The heavy father, to reason blind,
Has them with him to show there!
The deeds relate to the old man's will;
The villain wants them to pay a bill!
The night is cold, and the night is still
Let the music be slow there!

They stand alone in the pale-green light--
Sing Hey--hey! and he--he! there!
What is this flashing so keen and bright?
What is this that I see there?
Oh! deed of darkness in light descried!
Oh! villain thrice damn'd that blade to hide,
Right 'tween the arm on _the farther_ side--
Certain death when it be there!

They're still alone on the moonlit spot--
Sing He--he! and Hey--hey! there!
Though one is Standing,[1] and one is not,
For _one's_ cold as the clay there!
The villain covers the dead man's stare--
The corpse lies stiff in the limelight's glare!
The act is done!--and for all I care,
The dead body can stay there!

[Footnote 1: HERBERT.]

* * * * *

TO MY LUGGAGE-LABELS.

Wonderful pictures of purple and gold,
Ultramarine, and vermilion, and bistre;
Splendid inscriptions of hostels untold,
Touching memorials breathing of "Mr.;"
"Schweizerhof," "Bernerhof," "Hofs" by the score;
Signs of the Bear and the Swan, and the Bellevue,
Gasthaus, Albergo, Posada, galore--
Beautiful wrecks, how I wish I could shelve you!

Visions of Venice--her stones and her smells!
Whiffs of Cologne--aromatic mementos;
Visiting cards, so to speak, of hotels;
Como's, Granada's, Zermatt's and Sorrento's
Ah! how ye cling to my boxes and bags,
Glued with a pigment that baffles removal;
Dogged adherents in dirt and in rags;
Labels, receive my profane disapproval!

Much as I prized you, when roaming afield,
Loved you, when Life was metheglyn and skittles,
Wished you the spell of remembrance to wield,
Calling the scenery back and the victuals;
Still, when it blows and it rains, and it irks,
Here in apartments adjoining a seaview,
After a meal that would terrify Turks,
So