Crêpes à la MacMahon

[Douglas G. Wilson]

<<A PANCAKE-MAKER, --IN PARIS

Under an archway he stands,--every day he is there,
The little old pancake-man, with his tins and his cooking-ware;
Tossing his batter aloft, as he brays out many a yarn
Concerning the making of _crêpes_, which he designates _à la MacMahon_.

"First, there are eggs to be sifted,--the country’s best silver and gold;
Next for some flummery mixture, or else the matter won’t hold;
Stir it about with sugar, then pop it into the pan,
And out comes a _crêpe_ for the marshal--or--any popular man."

The people around him laugh,--"There’s wisdom in that!" they cry;
For had not old Antoine seen the violets bloom and die?
The lilies, too,--yet there, still there, with his "_voix d’âne_,"
He praises now, and tosses his _crêpes_,--_à la MacMahon!_

Spectator.  H. A. Duff.  Rue St. Honoré, March 5, 1877.>>

-- "The Living Age" 133(1716):258 (5 May 1877) [MoA, Cornell]