Two copies of the typescript of a humorous poem titled 'Lines Written in Contemplation of the King's Bodyguard for Scotland 1937.'

Author: 
T. B. S.' [T. B. Simpson; Thomas Blantyre Simpson (1892-1954), author and Sheriff of Perth and Angus] [The King's Bodyguard for Scotland]
Publication details: 
1937. [One copy headed in manuscript: 'From T. B. SIMPSON | 11/6/49.']
£75.00
SKU: 8584

Each of the two typescripts is on one side of a piece of A4 paper. One is signed in type at end 'T. B.S.' and the other (which appears to be mimeographed) carries what is presumably Simpson's signature at head in the manuscript note: 'From T. B. SIMPSON | 11/6/49.' Text of each clear and complete, on creased and aged paper. Apart from the typed signature to the one copy, and the fact that one copy has square brackets and the other curved, the two texts are identical. The poem consists of six four-line stanzas, with the first reading: 'Between the Palace and the Hill | Behold the ranks of archers stand! | They are not standing straight or still | And yet the spectacle is grand.' The fifth stanza consists of some 'fragments of dialogue': '"Have you got heather-beetle still?" | "This year the plovers' eggs were late." | "What do you think of Herbert's Bill?" | "My God! I've dropped my dental plate." In the last stanza 'the Monarch' is said to know 'That he is guarded by those bows | Which few can hold and fewer draw.'