A CURIOUS COLLECTION

THE OLD TIN BOX

In the vaults of Cox was an old tin box,
With Watson’s name on its lid.
What wouldn’t we pay for that box today,
And the secret notes there hid?

Old Russian dame, Ricoletti the lame,
The famous aluminum crutch;
For Alicia the cutter, the parsley in butter,
What would you give for such?

Story of Randall, Darlington scandal,
The Coptic patriarchs,
The opal tiara, the Addleton barrow –
Dollars? or francs? or marks?

The tale of the pinch of Victor Lynch,
The furniture warehouse mob,
The case at the Hague, the murder at Prague
The powderless Margate job,

The giant rat, the cardinal’s hat,
The Patersons (first name Grice),
The cormorant’s bill, the Hammerford will –
We’d take ’em at any price.

The Phillimore fella who sought an umbrella,
The steamer Friesland (Dutch);
For Col. Carruthers or Atkinson brothers
One never could give too much.

The Vatican case and its cameo face,
The slithering, unknown worm,
And Abergavenny were none too many –
Where is this Cox’s firm?

Oh, wonderful box in the vaults of Cox!
You come with a touch of salt!
But I offer two blocks of the choicest stocks
For the treasure of Cox’s vault.

by Jay Finley Christ - 1946