Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE WANDERER: 1. IN ITALY: NEWS, by EDWARD ROBERT BULWER-LYTTON


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE WANDERER: 1. IN ITALY: NEWS, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: News, news, news, my gossiping friends!
Last Line: T is a woman that reigns in hell.
Alternate Author Name(s): Meredith, Owen; Lytton, 1st Earl Of; Lytton, Robert
Subject(s): Gossip; Italy; Travel; Women; Italians; Journeys; Trips


NEWS, news, news, my gossiping friends!
I have wonderful news to tell.
A lady, by me, her compliments sends;
And this is the news from Hell:

The Devil is dead. He died resigned,
Though somewhat opprest by cares;
But his wife, my friends, is a woman of mind,
And looks after her lord's affairs.

I have just come back from that wonderful place,
And kist hands with the Queen down there;
But I cannot describe Her Majesty's face,
It has filled me so with despair.

The place is not what you might suppose:
It is worse in some respects.
But all that I heard there, I must not disclose,
For the lady that told me objects.

The laws of the land are not Salique,
But the King never dies, of course;
The new Queen is young, and pretty, and chic,
There are women, I think, that are worse.

But however that be, one thing I know,
And this I am free to tell;
The Devil, my friends, is a woman, just now;
'T is a woman that reigns in Hell.





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