Keeping His First Wife Now

It's oh! for a rivet in marriage bonds,     And a splice in the knot untied,     The sanctity of the marriage tie     Is growing more sanctified!     Theyre getting mixed up in society,     Theres an awful family row,     For Reginald Jones of The Fernery     Is keeping his first wife now!     Oh! she belonged to the smart, smart set     (Where reasons are far to seek),     And the wedding and crush are remembered yet     As the smart things of the week.     Never an atom of love had she,     But they had a child somehow,     And Reginald Jones of The Fernery     Has the love of his first wife now.     Mad for notice and talk was she,     A butterfly blind as a bat,     She would flaunt for a season a divorcee,     Or divorce him, failing that.     He played his part and she held his heart     As light as her marriage vow,     But Reginald Jones of The Fernery     Has a hold on his first wife now.     She swore in Court what the world knew false,     With never a thought of shame,     She was free to flaunt to her hearts content,     But she found it mighty tame:     The talk of the town for a week or two,     The gush, the smirk and the bow,     But Reginald Jones of The Fernery     Is the God of his first wife now!     Her soul grew sick of the smart, smart set,     Or her conscience drove her wild,     Or she craved for notice and talk once more,     Or perhaps because of the child;     But they met at last and they met again,     No matter the where or how,     And Reginald Jones of The Fernery     Is in love with his first wife now.     Tis a terrible life for the second young wife,     But she married him too for place;     And she mustnt forget that a smarting set     Belongs to the human race.     They say its fixed up in camera,     And, if that is the case, Ill vow,     That Reginald Jones of The Fernery     Will marry his first wife now.     And there is a song of the English world     And a song for the English race:     The second husband and second wife     Must ever take second place.     So cherish the best that you find in the first,     And a margin of width allow:     The future looks after itself too well!     Look after the first ones now.