La Scala Santa
By Charles G. Leland
Robusti sono i fatti.
- Discorso del Terremoto,
del S. Alessandro Sardo.
Venetia, A.D. 1586.
In San Gianni Lateran,
Deyve cot a flight of shdairs,
More woonderful ash nefer vas,
As Latin pooks declares.
For you kits your sins forgifen,
If you glimes dem knee py knee;
Its such a gitten up a stairs,
I nefer yet did see.
Now as Breitmann vas a vaitin
Among some demi reps,
Ascensionem expectans,
To see dem glime de steps,
Dere came a sinful scoffer,
Who his mind had firmly set
To go dem holy sdairs afoot,
Und do it on a bet!
Boot shoost as he vas startet,
To make dis sassy go,
Der Breitmann caught him py de neck,
Und tripped him off his toe!
Und den dere come de skience,
A la prenez gardez vous;
For he bung his eye and bust his shell,
Und shplit his noshe in dwo.
De briests vere so astonish,
To see him lam de man,
Dat dey shvore a holy miracle
Vas vork by Breitemann.
Says Breitmann, Im a heretic,
But dis you may pe bound,
No chap shall mock relishious dings
Vhile Im a bummin round.
Und you owes me really noding,
For as Ill plainly show,
At last Ive found out someding
Vot I alfays vant to know.
Und now dat I have found it,
In de newspapers Ill brag:
Evviva! Ho trovato,
Vot means a Scala-Wag.