cran;
But John and Louis soon stepp'd in,
And cleared the _padding can_.

Once, Alex. Russ's father, Nick,
A bit before he died,
Did roughly seize a little Turk,
And thought to warm his hide.

But John and Louis interfered,
Declaring it foul play;
And made old Nick remember it
Until his dying day.

Now all Dame Europe's deputies,
They made themselves at home;
And every lodger knew his bed,
Likewise his sitting room.

They took great interest in their beds,
And kept them very clean;
Unlike some other _padding cans_,
So dirty and so mean.

The best and choicest bed of all,
Was occupied by Johnny;
Because the Dame did favour him,
He did collect her money.

And in a little bunk he lived,
Seal'd up with oak, and tarr'd;
He would not let a single one
Come near within a yard.

A Jack-of-all-trades, too, was John,
And aught he'd do for brass;
And what he ever took in hand,
No one could him surpass.

When tired of being shut in the bunk,
Sometimes he went across,
To spend an hour with Master Loo,
And they the wine would toss.

So many a happy day they spent,
These lads, with one another;
While every lodger in the house,
Thought John was Louis' brother.

The Dame allowed John something nice,
To get well in her rent,
Which every now and then i' t'bank,
He put it on per cent.

And working very hard himself
Amongst his tar and pitch;
He soon accumulated wealth,
That made him very rich.

Now Louis had a pleasant crib
Which was admired by lots,
And being close by a window,
He had some flower pots.

The next to Louis' bed was Will,
The biggest Monitor
And though he did pretend a saint,
He was as big a cur.

He loved to make them all believe
He was opposed to strife,
And said he never caused a row,
No, never in his life.

He was so fond of singing psalms,
And he read his testament;
That everybody was deceived
When he was mischief bent.

He seldom passed a lodger's bed
But what he took a glance,
Which made them every one suspect
He'd rob if he'd a chance.

Now Louis had two flower pots
He nourished with much care,
But little knew that Willie's eyes
Were set upon the pair.

In one there grew an ALSACE ROSE,
The other a LORRAINE,
And Willie vowed they once were his
And must be his again.

He said his father once lodged there,
And that the Dame did know
That Louis' prede