When Orpheus smote his tuneful lyre
Among the Slocum Regis choir
Who, greatly daring, undertook
The celebrated work by Gluck
(Or, as some put it, tried their luck
At singing choruses by Gluck),
The name of his unhappy spouse
Diverse opinions did arouse.
For while sopranos, strong and screechy,
Loudly lamented Eurydice
And altos on the lower G
Bewailed the sad Eurydice,
The basses scorned distinction nice,
And sang the fate of Eurydice.
As given in the "Kipling Journal" (March 1968, vol. XXXV, no. 165). Introduced with the following: "...a memory of a verse which appeared in Punch many years ago and, if the Editor will permit, deserves repeating."
