THE SONG OF THE STREET.

New Zealand Herald, Volume II, Issue 484, 1 June 1865, Page 6

THE SONG OF THE STREET.

■ BTW.IT.TJ. With li>s.a_lllrri3-with cold. And purple,£fld awoUpn feet, A ■wominriiv<j«se ent ofcachecLon the flag* Singinglthe, Song of the Stroet: "Starrfl! Starve! Starve! Oh, God! 'tis a fearful night! Sow the .vind, does blow the sleet and the snow ; Will it evor again be light ? T h«Vα rung: at the 'Refuge , boll, I hi vo "rent at the wprkhouse door, To ho told again that 1 clamour in vain, They are"' full;" they 'can hold no moiD. , Starve Starve! Of thVcrpwna that pass me by, Somo with pity, and some in pride, But m-'re with indifference, turn aside, -find leave me here to die! Oh, vou that sleep in beds Withcovorltit, quilt, and fheet, Oh, it enow?, what it is for thoso That'lieinthe open street; Th.it lift in the op»n street On the w>l 1 and frozen stones, When fhe wirter's blast, as it whistles past, Bilei'into the very hones. Oh, what-with the wind without, And,:what with the cold within, I own .r...hav.e sought to drivo away thought With y»it cure« of the tempted—Gin. Drink L.Drink! Drink! Amid ribaldry, gas, and glare, If there's H ell.on earth 'Tis ih£.gha?tly mirth That maddens at midnight, there.' Oh. you that nevor havo etray'd, ,tou have not been tried, Oh, look "not down, with a Pharisee's frown, On those that have swervd aside. An i yofi that held the scales, And you that glibly urge Tha*. the ' only pl.n' is the prifoa van. The treadmill, or the scourge— Oh, wTia'f ar» the lost, to do ? To famish and not to feel, ■ For day's' to go, and novr to know Wlult it to havo on» meal. They Cannot buy,'they (Tare not beg, '! hey inust either starve or steal. FoMTfood! food! If it.bfc hut a loaf of bi-ead; .And to lie, " Ani a v plire to die, . If itr.fo hut a workhouse bo;l ! If von will not give to those that live, Yoii at !<>n«t must bury the dead !" "With lips-all livid and blue. And -piirpl'Jand -woll'n feet, A wnrjjan in raas s-ib crouchM on the flags, And -snrig ' The i'ong of the Stroet." As 3b> cpssed the doleful strain My/homeward path-1 trod ; And the cry and the prayer Ortliofrlost orifi there Wenbup to the throne of God.