THE ENAMOURED BOSS TO HIS WORKMAN.
Wilt keep sweet company with me?
Wilt be my all-in-all?
I’ll give thee work, thou busy Bee,
Much work, and wages small;
No selfish thoughts our love can cross,
If thou art wholly mine:
Say, workman, shall I be thy Boss,
And thou my Valentine?
Subsisting on starvation pay,
Thou’lt find this earth a heaven,
Wherein thou’lt work twelve hours a day,
And six days out of seven.
Thy home will be a dismal slum,
Yet need’st thou not repine,
For Love illumines all, so come,
And be my Valentine.
I’ll teach thee high Malthusian lore,
Thy spirit to uplift,
And thou shalt study more and more
The blessedness of Thrift,
Nor shall thou lack, for surest bliss,
The Gospel Truths benign;
Come, seal our compact with a kiss,
And by my Valentine!
Thus pledge we both a sacred vow,
And our fond hearts engage,
That I may dwell in ease, while thou
Dost toil from youth to age;
And doubt not, when thy wasted strength
Is crushed in life’s decline,
Thou’lt find a pauper’s grave at length,
My faithful Valentine!
H. S. S.
Justice, February 12, 1887, p. 3