Anonymous;
After William McGonagall
'Twas in the year 1884, in the wild month of December,
A stranded whale, as folks from Nairn may well remember,
Was brought from there to Aberdeen - or rather Fittie,
Towed through gales by the brave tug 'Granite City'.
So at the
shear-poles then, this mighty monster whale
Was hoisted up by ropes around his spreading tail,
While thousands rushed this spectacle to see,
And formed a huge enthusiastic crowd upon the quay.
And when
the Great Fin Whale at last on wagons lay,
And four and twenty horses drew him on his way,
The crowd did cheer, undaunted by the stench,
Which did wholly fail their enthusiasm to quench.
And at
length Professor Struthers with the help of Robert Gibb
Laid all bare the vertebrae, not to mention skull and rib;
And for the sake of Science, and with the best intent,
They put them back together as was by Nature meant.
All along
the corridor was the most wonderous sight,
And Lo! the great leviathan kept watch by day and night
But no more will he look down on Medical Classes,
The which is the cause of many sad 'Alases'!
For the
beautiful preparations of good Professor Struthers
Have been entrusted to the hands of others -
That is to say, the Zoological Department out at King's;
Who, we hope, will take good care of such things.
