| |
| MONSIEUR the Curé down the street | |
| Comes with his kind old face,— | |
| With his coat worn bare, and his straggling hair, | |
| And his green umbrella-case. | |
| |
| You may see him pass by the little “Grande Place,” | 5 |
| And the tiny “Hôtel-de-Ville;” | |
| He smiles as he goes to the fleuriste Rose, | |
| And the pompier Théophile. | |
| |
| He turns, as a rule, through the “Marché” cool, | |
| Where the noisy fish-wives call; | 10 |
| And his compliment pays to the “belle Thérèse,” | |
| As she knits in her dusky stall. | |
| |
| There ’s a letter to drop at the locksmith’s shop, | |
| And Toto, the locksmith’s niece, | |
| Has jubilant hopes, for the Curé gropes | 15 |
| In his tails for a pain d’épice. | |
| |
| There ’s a little dispute with a merchant of fruit, | |
| Who is said to be heterodox, | |
| That will ended be with a “Ma foi, oui!” | |
| And a pinch from the Curé’s box. | 20 |
| |
| There is also a word that no one heard | |
| To the furrier’s daughter Lou; | |
| And a pale cheek fed with a flickering red, | |
| And a “Bon Dieu garde M’sieu’!” | |
| |
| But a grander way for the Sous-Préfet, | 25 |
| And a bow for Ma’am’selle Anne; | |
| And a mock “off-hat” to the Notary’s cat, | |
| And a nod to the Sacristan:— | |
| |
| For ever through life the Curé goes | |
| With a smile on his kind old face— | 30 |
| With his coat worn bare, and his straggling hair, | |
| And his green umbrella-case. | |
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