43656.fb2 Black Beetles in Amber - читать онлайн бесплатно полную версию книги . Страница 88

Black Beetles in Amber - читать онлайн бесплатно полную версию книги . Страница 88

A DAMPENED ARDOR

The Chinatown at Bakersfield  Was blazing bright and high;The flames to water would not yield,  Though torrents drenched the skyAnd drowned the ground for miles around—  The houses were so dry.Then rose an aged preacher man  Whom all did much admire,Who said: "To force on you my plan  I truly don't aspire,But streams, it seems, might quench these beams  If turned upon the fire."The fireman said: "This hoary wight  His folly dares to thrustOn us! 'Twere well he felt our might—  Nay, he shall feel our must!"With jet of wet and small regret  They laid that old man's dust.