As she was alone In her cottage one day, When business had called Her fond husband away, Young Randell, the haughty, Came in at the door And clasped in his arms The fair Fannie Moore. "O Fannie, O Fannie, Reflect on your fate And accept of my offer Before it's too late; For one thing to-night I am bound to secure,-- 'Tis the love or the life Of the fair Fannie Moore." "Spare me, Oh, spare me!" The young Fannie cries, While the tears swiftly flow From her beautiful eyes; "Oh, no!" cries young Randell, "Go home to your rest," And he buried his knife In her snowy white breast. So Fannie, so blooming, In her bright beauty died; Young Randell, the haughty, Was taken and tried; At length he was hung On a tree at the door, For shedding the blood Of the fair Fannie Moore. Young Henry, the shepherd, Distracted and wild, Did wander away From his own native isle. Till at length, claimed by death, He was brought to this shore And laid by the side Of the fair Fannie Moore. HELL IN TEXAS The devil, we're told, in hell was chained, And a thousand years he there remained; He never complained nor did he groan, But determined to start a hell of his own, Where he could torment the souls of men Without being chained in a prison pen. So he asked the Lord if he had on hand Anything left when he made the land. The Lord said, "Yes, I had plenty on hand, But I left it down on the Rio Grande; The fact is, old boy, the stuff is so poor I don't think you could use it in hell anymore." But the devil went down to look at the truck, And said if it came as a gift he was stuck; For after examining it carefully and well He concluded the place was too dry for hell. So, in order to get it off his hands, The Lord promised the devil to water the lands; For he had some water, or rather some dregs, A regular cathartic that smelled like bad eggs. Hence the deal was closed and the deed was given And the Lord went back to his home in heaven. And the devil then said, "I have all that is needed To make a good hell," and hence he succeeded. He began to put thorns in all of the trees, And mixed up the sand with millions of fleas; And scattered tarantulas along all the roads; Put thorns on the cactus and horns on the toads. He lengthened the horns of the Texas steers, And put an addition on the rabbit's ears; He put a little devil in the broncho steed, And poisoned the feet of the centipede. The rattlesnake bites you, the scorpion stings, The mosquito delights you with buzzing wings; The sand-burrs prevail and so do the ants, And those who sit down need half-soles on their pants. The devil then said that throughout the land He'd managed to keep up the devil's own brand, And all would be mavericks unless they bore The marks of scratches and bites and thorns by the score.