Etchings in Verse (Underhill)/Four Kings

by Andrew Findlay Underhill

FOUR KINGS.

RONDEAU.

I hold four Kings—a regal hand.My manner is serene, and bland. A chip is all I care to bet; For I prefer to wait—and yetI am the mogul of the land.

They "crawl," both Jones and Thompson, andI fear that Smalley will not "stand"; But Smith seems anxious to be met—I hold four Kings.

He "raises" five. My hopes expand."Ten more!" I say in accents grand.— "And twenty!" now he's in the net! I have him!—what! Oh, vain regret!He shows four aces, on demand.I hold four Kings.