Page:Not understood - and other poems (IA notunderstoodoth00braciala).pdf/24

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When Tapley jumped upon a chair,
  And said, “I’ve to announce to you
That Dougal Gunn has just arrived:”
  All cheered except the Kangaroo.

Big Dougal was a kilted Celt,
  Who never swore an English oath,
He measured six foot three or four,
  His tartans had not check’d his growth ;
At all the games he prizes won,
  For bagpipe tunes—so well he blew
I thought and said, “He’ll charm our pet,
  For sweet sounds please our Kangaroo.

Then Dougal march’d around the room
  With ribbons streaming from his pipes,
His mien was royal though he wore
  So many brilliant stars and stripes.
With cheeks distended, he prepared
  To play the “March of Callum Dhu;”
Our Budgeree surveyed the pipes,
  And wondered much that Kangaroo.

And now the instrument emits
  Preliminary grunts and groans,
Notes, wild and fitful, rise and swell,
  The chanter struggles with the drones;
And louder yet, and wilder still,
  The pibroch swells—when madly flew—
Crash! smash! dash!—through the window panes
  Our peaceful pet, our Kangaroo.

The narrative is very sad—
  Full ten feet high, from off his tail
He’d sprung, he couldn’t understand
  The martial music of the Gael.