Source: THE ARMCHAIR MAGAZINE
Published Melbourne and also appears as Armchair Chronicle 1853

SITE SOURCE: Sydney Folklore - SECTION17: Characters and Eccentrics

The Wail of a Wegetarian

Oh! don't unto the diggins come,
You that object to meat,
You can't get taters nor green peas,
Nor any fruit to eat.
But stop; I'm going on too fast,�
To tell the truth I'm bound;
Yon can get taters, if you pay
Two shillings for a pound.

Yon cannot live on damper, friend,
And wash it down -with tea:
I'm getting weakly daily here,
For fruit I never see. I'm wrong again: in twelve months, twice
Some oranges I've seen,
And apples, like their purchasers,
Most gloriously green.

O you who frugal live at home,
Who can, with one small penny,
Two oranges, twelve apples, buy,�
If here yon purchase any,
(And this mind's only now and then,
Though, you. be e'er so willing,)
An orange will cost eighteen-pence,
An apple just one shilling.

Oh! would I were in London streets,
Some juicy orange munching,
Or, what would he the same to me,
A ribston-pippin scrunching :
I'd never, never think again
Of gold, and emigration
Unto a land where one must choose
Chops, steaks, or else�starvation.
So don't unto the diggins come
You who object to meat,
You'll hardly dig up gold enough
To pay for what yon eat.

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