The City of Extremity. There is a place, a dreadful place, Where all things go at whirlwind’s pace ; We call it, for its piteous case, The City of Extremity ! Two millions swelter darkly there, Beset with toil; and want, and care, And many herd with black Despair, In the City of Extremity ! Each man his neighbour screws and racks, Each sinew pays its utmost tax, And human nature strains and cracks, In the City of Extremity ! Horse nature, too, as sorely worn, Tears, chafes, and grinds, both night and morn ; O God, the sufferings dumbly borne In the City of Extremity ! Miles off, you see the smoke arise Of these two millions’ sacrifice, And hear the roaring agonies Of the City of Extremity ! God kindly gave the fruitful earth For all who draw from it their birth ; But ’tis a gift of doubtful worth In the City of Extremity ! There labour is a deadly fight, From which, at best, you snatch a bite— And you may starve in thousands’ sight, In the City of Extremity ! Men hate the unchristian work they do, And would a better course pursue, Did Fancied Fate not bind them to The City of Extremity ! They loathe the place they do it in, Plunged amid dirt, and smoke, and din, Polluted air, disease, and sin, In the City of Extremity ! They fly from both when fly they can, As neither being fit for man— As if just Heaven had laid its ban On the City of Extremity ! Oh, dear-loved friends, do not forget, The world has true and good things yet, Though all is base and counterfeit In the City of Extremity ! Still, still the larks at heaven’s gate sing, Still flowers beside the streamlet spring, Unlike their ghastly blossoming In the City of Extremity ! There healthful work and honest gain Keep young and old in cheerful strain, Unlike the harrowing hurricane Of the City of Extremity ! Come forth, then, from this frightful town, And let its monstrous size die down, Ere a new deluge come to drown The City of Extremity !