  THE sun was setting, and vespers done; From chapel the monks came one by one, And down they went thro’ the garden trim, In cassock and cowl, to the river’s brim. Ev’ry brother his rod he took; Ev’ry rod had a line and a hook; Ev’ry hook had a bait so fine, And thus they sang in the even shine: “Oh, to-morrow will be Friday, so we’ll fish the stream to-day! Oh, to-morrow will be Friday, so we’ll fish the stream to-day! Benedicite!” So down they sate by the river’s brim, And fish’d till the light was growing dim; They fish’d the stream till the moon was high, But never a fish came wand’ring by. They fish’d the stream in the bright moonshine, But not one fish would he come to dine. And the Abbot said, “It seems to me These rascally fish are all gone to sea. And to-morrow will be Friday, but we’ve caught no fish to-day; Oh, to-morrow will be Friday, but we’ve caught no fish to-day! Maledicite!” So back they went to the convent gate, For they thought of the morrow with faces white, Saying, “Oh, we must curb our appetite! But down in the depths of the vault below There’s Malvoisie for a world of woe!” So they quaff their wine, and all declare That fish, after all, is but gruesome fare. “Oh, to-morrow will be Friday, so we’ll warm our souls to-day! Oh, to-morrow will be Friday, so we’ll warm our souls to-day! Benedicite!” Frederick Edward Weatherly. |
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