Hector Achille Stanislaus Emile, When he heard him talk so felt an odd sort of feel; Not that _he_ cared for Ghosts--he was far too genteel; Still a queerish sensation came on when he saw Him, whom, for fun, They'd, by way of a pun On his person and principles, nick-named _Sans Foi_, --A man whom they had, you see, Mark'd as a Sadducee,-- In his horns, all at once, so completely to draw, And to talk of a Ghost with such manifest awe!-- It excited the Chevalier Grandville's surprise; He shrugg'd up his shoulders, he turn'd up his eyes, And he thought with himself that he could not do less Than lay the whole matter before the whole Mess. Repetition's detestable;-- So, as you're best able, Paint to yourself the effect at the Mess-table-- How the bold Brigadiers Prick'd up their ears, And received the account, some with fears, some with sneers; How the Sieur de la Roue Said to Count Cordon Bleu, "_Ma foi--c'est bien drôle_--Monseigneur, what say you?"-- How Count Cordon Bleu Declared he "thought so too;"-- How the Colonel affirm'd that "the case was quite new;"-- How the Captains and Majors Began to lay wagers How far the Ghost part of the story was true;-- How, at last, when asked, "What was the best thing to do?" Everybody was silent,--for nobody knew!-- And how, in the end, they said, "No one could deal With the matter so well, from his prudence and zeal, As the Gentleman who was the first to reveal This strange story--viz. Hippolyte Hector Achille Alphonse Stanislaus Emile de Grandville!"