WONDERS OF A TOY-SHOP
"Pray, what would you like?" said a Toyman, one day,
Addressing a group of young folks,
"I have toys in abundance, and very cheap, too,
Though not quite so cheap as my jokes.
"Here's a famous managerie, full of wild beasts;
See! this lion with wide open jaws,
Enough to affright one, and yet I've no doubt,
You might venture to play with his claws.
"Here's a tiger as tame as a lap-dog, you'll find,
And a fox that will not steal the geese:
So here you must own the old adage is proved,
That wonders are never to cease."
"Here's wagon well laden, and here is a dray,
With horses and harness complete;
You can drive them in parlour and drawing-room, too,
As easily as in the street.
"Here's a whole file of soldiers, quite ready for fight,
And each of them armed with a gun;
You may knock them all down with a feather, and then
You may pocket them--every one.
"Here's a fine stud of horses, which, strange though it sounds,
Live neither on corn nor on hay;
A gentleman's carriage, and tilbury, too,
For which we've no taxes to pay.
"A coachman so plump, and a footman so tall,
Who cost not a penny for food;
For to tell you the truth, all their insides are filled
With a permanent dinner of wood.
"Examine this sword, with its handle and sheath,
And its blade made of innocent wood;
'Twere well if all swords were as harmless as this,
And as equally guiltless of blood.
"Here's a mill that will go without water or wind,
A wonder, you cannot deny;
I really can't say whether it will grind corn,
But it will be easy to try.
That iron-gray rocking-horse, close at your side,
With saddle and bridle complete,
Will go without whipping, and, equally strange,
Without making use of his feet:
"Yet, stranger than that--whatsoever his pace,
Whether canter, or gallop, or trot,
Though moving at ten miles an hour--he ne'er
Advances one inch from the spot.
"A full set of bricks is enclosed in this box,
(With the mortar we well may dispense,)
But with these you may build a magnificent house,
Without e'en a farthing's expense.
"With these you may raise up a Royal Exchange,
In less than five minutes, and then
Knock it down, and build up a new Parliament House,
In another five minutes,--or ten.
"A doll's pretty kitchen, stands next on the shelf,
With grate, pans, and kettle, and pot;
With dish and tureen, and all crockery-ware,
Knives and forks, and I cannot tell what;
But I think I may venture to say
A minnow or tittlebat there might be cooked,
As a rarity on a train ride someday."