It may be my truant monkey, Will come with that cord again; It may be he only skedaddles When he hears the organ-men! It may be my truant monkey Will come with that cord again; It may be he only SKEDADDLES When he hears the organ men!! As mentioned above this parody was printed in 1880, but curiously enough, another rather similar parody has been sent in, dated December, 1879. THE LOST APE. Seated one day on an organ, A monkey was ill at ease, When his fingers wandered idly, In search of the busy fleas. I know not what he was slaying, Or what he was dreaming then, But a sound burst forth from that organ, Not at all like a grand Amen. It came through the evening twilight Like the close of the feline psalm, But the melody raised by their voices, Compared to this noise, was balm! It was worse than Salvation’s Sorrow With their band of drum and fife, And cut, like an evening “Echo,” The _Tit-Bits_ out of “Life.” I upset my table and tea things, And left not one perfect piece; I gazed at the wreck in silence, Not loth, but unable to speak! Then I sought him, alas! all vainly, The source of that terrible whine, With his cracked and tuneless organ, And its melodies undivine. Of course there was no policeman To move him away,――and men Who grind organs smile demurely At your curses, and smile again. It may be that I could choke him―― Could kill him――but organ men If you kill a dozen to-day, To-morrow will come again! J. W. G. W. December, 1879. ―――― THE LOST RENT. (Copied, _without permission_, from a Christmas card in the shape of a “Dicky,”) Seated one day at the window, I was weary and ill at ease, And my coat I handled lightly, As I tried to extract the grease. I had no hopes of a dinner; My stomach was aching then, When a knock at the door of my chamber. Like the sound of the broker men! It may be they thought I would open; But I stepped through the window then, Leaving one chair and a shirt front, To amuse the broker men. ―――― THE LOST KEY. The following parody was written, composed, and sung with great success by Mr. George Grossmith. It carries the idea of “The Lost Chord” throughout, yet the air is different, and the quaint and laughable words form a strong contrast to the mystical language of the original. The music is published by J. Bath, Berners Street, London.