Analysis of 'Peaceable Expulsion'



MOUNTWAVE _a Politician_
HARDHAND _a Workingman_
TOK BAK _a Chinaman_
SATAN _a Friend to Mountwave_

CHORUS OF FOREIGN VOTERS.

My friend, I beg that you will lend your ears
(I know 'tis asking a good deal of you)
While I for your instruction nominate
Some certain wrongs you suffer. Men like you
Imperfectly are sensible of all
The miseries they actually feel.
Hence, Providence has prudently raised up
Clear-sighted men like me to diagnose
Their cases and inform them where they're hurt.
The wounds of honest workingmen I've made
A specialty, and probing them's my trade.

Well, Mister, s'pose you let yer bossest eye
Camp on my mortal part awhile; then you
Jes' toot my sufferin's an' tell me what's
The fashionable caper now in writhes-
The very swellest wiggle.

Well, my lad,
'Tis plain as is the long, conspicuous nose
Borne, ponderous and pendulous, between
The elephant's remarkable eye-teeth
(_Enter Tok Bak._)
That Chinese competition's what ails _you_.

O pig-tail Celestial,
O barbarous bestial,
Abominable Chinee!
Simian fellow man,
Primitive yellow man,
Joshian devotee!
Shoe-and-cigar machine,
Oleomargarine
You are, and butter are we-
Fat of the land are we,
Salt of the earth;
In God's image planned to be-
Noble in birth!
You, on the contrary,
Modeled upon very
Different lines indeed,
Show in conspicuous,
Base and ridiculous
Ways your inferior breed.
Wretched apology,
Shame of ethnology,
Monster unspeakably low!
Fit to be buckshotted-
Be you 'steboycotted.
Vanish-vamoose-mosy-Go!

You listen me! You beatee the big dlum
An' tell me go to Flowly Kingdom Come.
You all too muchee fool. You chinnee heap.
Such talkee like my washee-belly cheap!
(_Enter Satan._)
You dlive me outee clunty towns all way;
Why you no tackle me Safflisco, hay?

Methought I heard a murmuring of tongues
Sound through the ceiling of the hollow earth,
As if the anti-coolie ques--ha! friends,
Well met. You see I keep my ancient word:
Where two or three are gathered in my name,
There am I in their midst.

O monstrous thief!
To quote the words of Shakespeare as your own.
I know his work.

Who's Shakespeare?-what's his trade?
I've heard about the work o' that galoot
Till I'm jest sick!

Go Sunny school-you'll know
Mo' Bible. Bime by pleach-hell-talkee. Tell
'Bout Abel-mebby so he live too cheap.
He mebby all time dig on lanch-no dlink,
No splee-no go plocession fo' make vote-
No sendee money out of clunty fo'
To helpee Ilishmen. Cain killum. Josh
He catchee at it, an' he belly mad-
Say: 'Allee Melicans boycottee Cain.'
Not muchee-you no pleachee that:
You all same lie.

This cuss must be expelled.
(_Draws pistol_.)

MOUNTWAVE, HARDHAND, SATAN (_singing_):

For Chinese expulsion, hurrah!
To mobbing and murder, all hail!
Away with your justice and law-
We'll make every pagan turn tail.

CHORUS OF FOREIGN VOTERS:

Bedad! oof dot tief o'ze vorld-
Zat Ivan Tchanay vos got hurled
In Hella, da debil he say:
'Wor be yer return pairmit, hey?'
Und gry as 'e shaka da boot:
'Zis haythen haf nevaire been oot!'

Too many cooks are working at this broth-
I think, by thunder, t'will be mostly froth!
I'm cussed ef I can sarvy, up to date,
What good this dern fandango does the State.

The State's advantage, sir, you may not see,
But think how good it is for me.


Scheme aaab C xdedfxxxxgg hdxci jxaxkd iiaaalaallmlmllnoonllxeek ppqqarr xmxxpx bak gek axqkxbxjaxh xf k xsxs C exrrxe ttuu ll
Poetic Form
Metre 111 111 1111 101111 1011010 1111111111 1111001111 1111010100 1101110111 0100110011 010011001 1100110011 110111101 1100011111 01110111 0100010111 1101111111 1111010111 11111111 0100010101 010110 111 11110101001 1100010001 0100010011 111 101010111 111010 110010 010001 100101 100101 101 100101 1 1101011 110111 1101 0110111 1001 110100 100110 100101 100100 100100 1101001 100100 110100 1011 1111 111 10111 110111011 111111101 11111111 11111101 11 11111111 11110111 111010011 1101010101 110101111 1111111101 1111110011 111011 1101 110111111 1111 11111 110101111 1111 110111 110111111 110111111 111111111 11111111 11101111 111111 111111101 101111 111111 1111 111101 11 11101 10101001 1101011 01111001 111001011 1011010 1111111 1101111 011111 1110111 11111011 111111 1101110111 11110111101 111111111 111101101 0101011111 11111111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 3,316
Words 584
Sentences 53
Stanzas 18
Stanza Lengths 4, 1, 11, 5, 6, 25, 7, 6, 3, 3, 11, 2, 1, 4, 1, 6, 4, 2
Lines Amount 102
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 140
Words per stanza (avg) 31
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

3:00 min read
103

Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist. more…

All Ambrose Bierce poems | Ambrose Bierce Books

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