The Voyageur and Other Poems | Page 4

makin' ring aroun' hees head, No wonder M'sieu Robin wissle low.
An' we can't help feelin' glad too, so we call heem Dieudonné; An' he never cry, dat baby, w'en he 's chrissen by de pries' All de sam' I bet you dollar he 'll waken up some day,?An' be as bad as leetle boy Bateese.
[Illustration: Border]
THE DEVIL
Along de road from Bord à Plouffe?To Kaz-a-baz-u-a?W'ere poplar trees lak sojers stan',?An' all de lan' is pleasan' lan',?In off de road dere leev's a man?Call Louis Desjardins.
An' Louis, w'en he firse begin?To work hees leetle place,?He work so hard de neighbors say,?"Unless he tak's de easy way?Dat feller 's sure to die some day,?We see it on hees face."
'T was lak a swamp, de farm he got,?De water ev'ryw'ere--?Might drain her off as tight as a drum.?An' back dat water is boun' to come?In less 'n a day or two--ba Gum!?'T would mak' de angel swear.
So Louis t'ink of de bimeby,?If he leev' so long as dat,?W'en he 's ole an' blin' an' mebbe deaf,?All alone on de house hese'f,?No frien', no money, no not'ing lef',?An' poor--can't kip a cat.
So wan of de night on winter tam,?W'en Louis is on hees bed,?He say out loud lak a crazy man,?"I 'm sick of tryin' to clear dis lan',?Work any harder I can't stan',?Or it will kill me dead.
"Now if de devil would show hese'f?An' say to me, 'Tiens! Louis!?Hard tam an' work she 's at an' en',?You 'll leev' lak a Grand Seigneur ma frien',?If only you 'll be ready w'en?I want you to come wit' me.'
"I 'd say, 'Yass, yass--'maudit! w'at 's dat?'?An' he see de devil dere--?Brimstone, ev'ryt'ing bad dat smell,?You know right away he 's come from--well,?De place I never was care to tell--?An' wearin' hees long black hair,
Lak election man, de kin' I mean?You see aroun' church door,?Spreadin' hese'f on great beeg speech?'Bout poor man 's goin' some day be reech,?But dat 's w'ere it alway come de heetch,?For poor man 's alway poor.
De only diff'rence--me--I see?'Tween devil an' long-hair man?It 's hard to say, but I know it 's true,?W'en devil promise a t'ing to do?Dere 's no mistak', he kip it too--?I hope you understan'.
So de devil spik, "You 're not content,?An' want to be reech, Louis--?All right, you 'll have plaintee, never fear,?No wan can beat you far an' near,?An' I 'll leave you alone for t'orty year,?An' den you will come wit' me.
"Be careful now--it 's beeg contrac',?So mebbe it 's bes' go slow;?For me--de promise I mak' to you?Is good as de bank Rivière du Loup?For you--w'enever de tam is due,?Ba tonder! you got to go."
Louis try hard to tak' hees tam?But w'en he see de fall?Comin' along in a week or so,?All aroun' heem de rain an' snow?An' pork on de bar'l runnin' low,?He don't feel good at all.
An' w'en he t'ink of de swampy farm?An' gettin' up winter night,?Watchin' de stove if de win' get higher?For fear de chimley go on fire,?It's makin' poor Louis feel so tire?He tell de devil, "All right."
"Correct," dat feller say right away,?"I 'll only say, Au revoir,"?An' out of de winder he 's goin' pouf!?Beeg nose, long hair, short tail, an' hoof,?Off on de road to Bord à Plouffe?Crossin' de reever dere.
W'en Louis get up nex' day, ma frien',?Dere 's lot of devil sign--?Bar'l o' pork an' keg o' rye,?Bag o' potato ten foot high,?Pile o' wood nearly touch de sky,?Was some o' de t'ing he fin'.
Suit o' clothes would have cos' a lot?An' ev'ryt'ing I dunno,?Trotter horse w'en he want to ride?Eatin' away on de barn outside,?Stan' all day if he 's never tied,?An' watch an' chain also.
An' swamp dat's bodder heem many tam,?W'ere is dat swamp to-day??Don't care if you 're huntin' up an' down?You won't fin' not'ing but medder groun',?An' affer de summer come aroun'?W'ere can you see such hay?
Wall! de year go by, an' Louis leev'?Widout no work to do,?Rise w'en he lak on winter day,?Fin' all de snow is clear away,?No fuss, no not'ing, dere 's de sleigh?An' trotter waitin' too.
W'en t'orty year is nearly t'roo?An' devil 's not come back?'Course Louis say, 'Wall! he forget?Or t'ink de tam 's not finish yet;?I 'll tak' ma chance an' never fret,"?But dat 's w'ere he mak' mistak'.
For on a dark an' stormy night?W'en Louis is sittin' dere,?After he fassen up de door?De devil come as he come before,?Lookin' de sam' only leetle more,?For takin' heem--you know w'ere.
"Asseyez vous, sit down, ma frien',?Bad night be on de road;?You come long way an' should be tire--?Jus' wait an' mebbe I feex de fire--?Tak' off your clothes for mak' dem drier,?Dey mus' be heavy load."
Dat 's how poor Louis Desjardins?Talk to de devil, sir--?Den say, "Try leetle w'isky blanc,?Dey 're makin' it back on St. Laurent--?It