Page:The Bab Ballads.djvu/123

 He had a trusty wife and true,
 * And very cosy quarters,

A manager, a boy or two,
 * Six clerks, and seven porters.
 * A broker must be doing well
 * (As any lunatic can tell)
 * Who can employ
 * An active boy,
 * Six clerks, and seven porters.

His knocker advertised no dun,
 * No losses made him sulky,

He had one sorrow—only one—
 * He was extremely bulky.
 * A man must be, I beg to state,
 * Exceptionally fortunate
 * Who owns his chief
 * And only grief
 * Is—being very bulky.

"This load," he'd say, "I cannot bear,
 * I'm nineteen stone or twenty!

Henceforward I'll go in for air
 * And exercise in plenty."
 * Most people think that, should it come,
 * They can reduce a bulging tum
 * To measures fair
 * By taking air
 * And exercise in plenty.