Then the pedlar called to the crowd to hear, And his voice rang loud and his voice rang clear; And he lifted his head and began to troll The whimsical words of his rigmarole:--
"_Since last I talked to you here I've hurled My lone way over the wide, wide world. South and North and West and East I've fought with man and I've fought with beast_; _And I've opened the gates and cleared the bar That blocks the road to the morning star!_
"_I've seen King Pharaoh sitting down On his golden throne in his jewelled crown, With wizards fanning like anything To cool the face of the mighty King: But the King said, 'Wizards are off,' said he; 'Let Joseph the gipsy talk to me.'_
"_So I sat by the King and began to spout As the day drew in and the sun went out; And I sat by the King and spun my tale Till the light returned and the night grew pale; And none of the Wizards blinked or stirred While the King sat drinking it word by word._
"_Then he gave me rubies and diamonds old; He gave me masses of minted gold. He gave me all that a King can give: The right to live and to cease to live Whenever--and that'll be soon, I know-- The days are numbered of Gipsy Joe._
"_Then I went and I wandered on and on Till I came to the kingdom of Prester John; And there I stood on a crystal stool And sang the song of 'The First Wise Fool': Oh, I sang it low and I sang it high Till John he whimpered and piped his eye._
"_Then I drew a tooth from the lively jaw Of the Prester's ebony Aunt-in-law; And he bubbled and laughed so long, d'you see, That his wife looked glum and I had to flee. So I fled to the place where the Rajahs grow, A place where they wanted Gipsy Joe._
"_The Rajahs summoned the turbaned hordes And gave me sheaves of their inlaid swords; And the Shah of Persia next I saw, Who's brother and friend to the Big Bashaw; And he sent me a rope of turquoise stones The size of a giant's knuckle-bones._
"_But a little brown Pygmie took my hand And rattled me fast to a silver strand, Where the little brown Pygmie boys and girls Are cradled and rocked to sleep in pearls._ _And the Pygmies flattered me soft and low, 'You are tall; be King of us, Gipsy Joe.'_
"_I governed them well for half-a-year, But it came to an end, and now I'm here. Oh, I've opened the gates and cleared the bar, And I've come, I've come to my friends from far. I'm old and broken, I'm lame and tired, But I've come to the friends my soul desired._