Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE BAR-TENDER'S STORY, by DAVID LAW PROUDFIT


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE BAR-TENDER'S STORY, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: When I knowed him at first there was suthin'
Last Line: And a baby was into the same.
Alternate Author Name(s): Arkwright, Pegleg
Subject(s): Bars & Bartenders; Beer; Drinks & Drinking; Pubs; Taverns; Saloons; Ale; Wine


WHEN I knowed him at first there was suthin',
A sort of a general air,
That was wery particular pleasin',
And what you might call -- debonair.
I'm aware that expression is Frenchy,
And highfalutin, perhaps,
Which accounts that I have the acquaintance
Of several quality chaps,

And such is the way they converses.
But, speakin' of this here young man, --
Apparently natur' had shaped him
On a sort of a liberal plan;
Had give him good looks and good language,
And manners expressin' with vim
His belief in hisself, and that others
Was just as good fellers as him.

Well, this chap wasn't stuck up, by no means,
Nor inclined to be easy put down;
And was thought to be jolly agreeable
Wherever he went around town.
He used to come in for his beverage
Quite regular every night;
And I took a consid'able interest
In mixing the thing about right.

A judicious indulgence in liquids
It is nat'ral for me to admire;
But I'm free to admit that for some folks
They is pison complete and entire;
For rum, though a cheerful companion,
As a boss is the Devil's own chum;
And this chap, I am sorry to state it,
Was floored in a wrastle with rum.

For he got to increasin' his doses,
And took 'em more often, he did, --
And it growed on him faster and faster,
Till inter a bummer he slid.
I was grieved to observe this here feller
A shovin' hisself down the grade,
And I lectured him onto it sometimes,
At the risk of its injurin' trade.

At last he got thunderin' seedy,
And lost his respect for hisself,
And all his high notions of honor
Was bundled away on the shelf.
But at times he was dreadful remorseful,
Whenever he'd stop for to think,
And he'd swear to reform hisself frequent,
And end it by takin' a drink.

What saved that young feller? A woman!
She done it the singlerest way, --
He come into the bar-room one evenin'
(He hadn't been drinkin' that day),
And sot hisself down to a table,
With a terrible sorrowful face,
And he sot there a groanin' repeated,
And callin' hisself a gone case.

He was thinkin', and thinkin', and thinkin',
And cussin' hisself and his fate,
And ended his thinkin', as usual,
By orderin' a Bourbon straight.
He was holdin' the glass in his fingers,
When into the place, from the street,
There come a young gal like a spirit,
With a face that was wonderful sweet;

And she glided right up to the table,
And took the glass gently away,
And she says to him, "George, it is over;
I am only a woman to-day!
I rejected you once in my anger,
But I come to you, lowly and meek;
For I can't live without you, my darling;
I thought I was strong, but I'm weak.

"You are bound in a terrible bondage,
And I come, love, to share it with you;
Is there shame in the deed? I can bear it,
For, at last, to my love I am true;
I have turned from the home of my childhood,
And I come to you, lover and friend,
Leaving comfort, contentment, and honor;
And I'll stay till the terrible end.

"Is there hunger and want in the future?
I will share them with you, and not shrink!
And together we'll join in the pleasures,
The woes, and the dangers of drink!"
Then she raised up the glass, firm and steady,
But her face was as pale as the dead, --
"Here's to wine, and the joys of carousals,
The songs and the laughter," she said.

Then he riz up, his face like a tempest,
And took the glass out of her hand,
And slung it away, stern and savage, --
And, I tell you, his manner was grand!
And he says, "I have done with it, Nellie,
And I'll turn from the ways I have trod,
And I'll live to be worthy of you, dear,
So help me, a merciful God!"

What more was remarked, it is needless
For me to attempt to relate;
It was some time ago since it happened,
But the sequel is easy to state:
I seen that same feller last Monday,
Lookin' nobby and han'some and game;
He was wheeling a vehicle, gen'lemen,
And a baby was into the same.





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