Alexander MacGregor Rose (1846-1898)
Tour Abroad of Wilfrid the Great
By Jean Baptiste Trudeau.
(1)
1W'en Queen Victoria calls her peup's
3She sen' for men from all de worl' --
4 And from her colonie.
(2)
5But mos' of all, she sen' dis word
6 To dis Canadian shore,
7"If Wilfrid Laurier do not come,
8 I will be glad no more."
(3)
9Den Wilfrid not hard-hearted, he
10 Lif' w'at you call de hat,
11An' say, "Ma reine, you mus' not fret,
12 For little t'ing lak' dat.
(4)
13"To Londres, on de day in June
14 You mention, I will come,
15And show you w'at is lak' de French-
16 Canadian gentilhomme."
(5)
17So Wildred sailed across de sea,
18 An' Queen Victoria met,
19An' w'en she's see him, ah! she is
20 Jus' tickle half to deat'!
(6)
21An' w'en he's kneel, as etiquette
22 Demand, for be correc',
23She tak' a sword into her han'
24 An' hit him on de neck.
(7)
25An' w'en she do, she smile on him,
26 An' dese de words she say:
27"Rise up, my true Canadian Knight --
28 Sir Wilfrid Laurier!
(8)
29"An' on dose grand Imperial plans
30 Which I have now in view,
31For guidance, counsel, an' advice
32 I'll always look to you."
(9)
33Den Wilfrid kiss de Royal han',
34 An' back off on de door,
35An' bow as only Frenchman can,
36 An' smile an' bow some more.
(10)
37Nex' day, it was a glorious sight,
38 At half-pas' twelve o'clock,
39To see Sir Wilfrid ride in state,
40 An' in chapeau de coque.
(11)
41Lords Solsby, Roberts, and Cecil Rhodes,
42 An' Chamberlain an' dose
43Were w'at you call "not in it," for
44 Sir Wilfrid was de boss.
(12)
45Oui, certainement, excep' de Queen
46 Herself dat glorious day,
47De greates' man on Angleterre
48 Was Wilfrid Laurier.
VISITS PARIS.
(13)
49Sir Wilfrid cross de Channel den,
51An' mak' fine speeches two or three
52 In de city of Paree.
(14)
53An' shak' de han', an' drink de vin
54 Mit Faure de Presiden',
55An' show him what de kin' of man
56 Dis contrie represen'.
(15)
57An' w'en Dir Wilfrid's voice dey hear,
58 An' his fine shape dey see,
59De men of France was hall surprise,
(16)
61Den Monsieur Faure he rise an say,
62 "Sir Wilfrid Laurier,
63In de Legion d'Honneur you are
64 Un grand officier."
(17)
65An' to Sir Wilfrid, front dem hall,
66 He mak' some fine address,
67An' den ribbon wit' de star
68 He pin upon his breas'.
(18)
69En bref, our Wilfrid capture France,
70 He's capture Anglan', too;
71I t'ink he will annex dem both
72 To Canada -- don' you?
SIR WILFRID'S RETURN.
(19)
73Sir Wilfrid, tired of Jubilee
75He says, "Dese contrie dey ees not
76 Lak' my own Canada.
(20)
77"I wan' my own dear lan' for see
78 An' de St. Laurent gran',
79An' hear again de French he spik
80 Mon bonhomme habitan!"
(21)
81Den to the Queen an' Monsieur Faure
82 Hees "au revoirs" he say,
83"I mus' go back on ole Kebec,
(22)
85"An' I mus go an help toujours,
86 Lor' Aberdeen mak' law,
87An' keep dem Tory boodler from
88 De safe in Ottawa.
(23)
89"An' help Sir Olivair, Sir Deek
90 An' Tarte mak' politique,
91An' keep Sir Tuppair an' hees gang
92 From play some crooked trique."
(24)
93So, on de "Labrador" he sail,
94 On Canada he come,
95We hall be glad his face to see,
96 An' he ees glad be home.
(25)
97An' hall de Angleesh, Ireesh, Franch
98 'Roun hees triomphan' car,
99Say, "Bienvenu! Come, spok to us
100 Upon de Champ de Mars."
(26)
101Sir Wilfrid tole us dat he drink
102 Dose vins mit' Monsieur Faure,
103An' dine on Windsor -- so he tole
104 Us on de Champ de Mars.
(27)
105Den hall de peup' dey mak' big cheer,
106 De cannon dey mak' shoot,
107We hall be on one grand hoorau,
108 De steamboats on a toot.
(28)
109So we hall sing, "God bless de Queen!
110 An' Monsieur Faure, alway!
111Because dey treat all same lak' prince,
112 Our Wilfrid Laurier."
Notes
1] Jean Baptiste Trudeau: Rose's pseudonym, a historical allusion to the French-Canadian of the same name who founded a school in St. Louis and explored the Upper Missouri River in 1793. (It does not seem likely that Rose means the French-Canadian who was a member of the Donner Party in 1845.)
Queen Victoria, Queen of England, who reigned from 1837 to 1901.
2] Jubilee: Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. June 20-22, 1897.
7] Sir Wilfrid Laurier (1841-1919), French-Canadian leader of the national Liberal party from 1887 until his death, and Prime Minister of Canada, 1896-1911.
10] He lifted (doffed) his hat.
40] chapeau de coque: turned-up (`cocked') hat, sometimes called a "cock-up."
41] Lords Solsby, Roberts, and Cecil Rhodes: Rhodes (1853-1902) was Prime Minister of Cape Colony in 1890 but resigned in 1896 in disgrace. He established the Rhodes Scholarships later. The other two are unidentified.
42] Chamberlain: Joseph Chamberlain, British Colonial Secretary.
50] La Patrie: as one might say, "the old country."
54] Félix Faure, President of the Third Republic of France (1895-1899).
60] hall epris: "all smitten, charmed."
74] eclat: pomp.
78] the great St. Lawrence river.
80] "My good-fellow the [French-Canadian] habitant."
83] ole Kebec: old Quebec City.
84] Montreal.
86] John Campbell Gordon, 1st marquess of Aberdeen and Temair, Governor General of Canada from 1893 to 1898.
87] boodler: caboodle, crowd.
89] Sir Olivair: perhaps Frank Oliver, elected to Parliament in 1896, a loyal Liberal.
Sir Deek: not identified.
90] Tarte: Joseph-Israël Tarte (1848-1907), Minister of Public Works in the 1896 Laurier government.
91] Sir Tuppair: Sir Charles Tupper (1821-1915), Conservative Prime Minister in 1896-97 and leader of the Opposition until 1901.
100] Champ-de-Mars, a great public square in Montreal that borders on the old fortifications.
102] Dose vins: those wines (French).
103] Windsor Castle, one of the palaces of the British monarchs.
Online text copyright © 2009, Ian Lancashire (the Department of English) and the University of Toronto.
Published by the Web Development Group, Information Technology Services, University of Toronto Libraries.
Original text: Poems of A. MacGregor Rose (Gordon), ed. Robert Dey (London: John Heywood, no date): 137-42. British Library
First publication date:
12
July
1897
Publication date note: Montreal Herald July 12, 1897.
RPO poem editor: Ian Lancashire
RP edition: RPO 2001
Recent editing: 2:2002/2/28
Composition date:
1897
Rhyme: abcb
Other poems by Alexander MacGregor Rose
