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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