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Punch/Volume 147/Issue 3816/En Passant

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Punch, Volume 147, Issue 3816 (August 26th, 1914)
En Passant by Percy Haselden
4264083Punch, Volume 147, Issue 3816 (August 26th, 1914) — En PassantPercy Haselden

Loud swells the roar of traffic in the street,
The motor-buses rumble on and wind
Their plaintive warnings as they come behind
Faint folk who dally, dazed by summer heat;
The reckless taxis seem a deal too fleet
To country cousins nervously inclined,
And raucous news-boys fret the curious mind
With spicy rumours of the foe's defeat.

But suddenly a hush falls everywhere:
Stopp'd is each taxi with its languid load,
And, as the City's silence deeper grows,
Only a barrel-organ churns the air
While Peggy (in the middle of the road)
Pauses to put some powder on her nose!