Down south there is a curio-shop
 Unknown to many men;
Thereat do I intend to stop
 When I am south again;
The narrow street through which to go--
 Aha! I know it well!
And may be you would like to know--
 But no--I will not tell!

'T is there to find the loveliest plates
 (The bluest of the blue!)
At such surprisingly low rates
 You'd not believe it true!
And there is one Napoleon vase
 Of dainty Sèvres to sell--
I'm sure you'd like to know that place--
 But no--I will not tell!

Then, too, I know another shop
 Has old, old beds for sale,
With lovely testers up on top
 Carved in ornate detail;
And there are sideboards rich and rare,
 With fronts that proudly swell--
Oh, there are bargains waiting there,
 But where I will not tell!

And hark! I know a bottle-man
 Smiling and debonair,
And he has promised me I can
 Choose of his precious ware!
In age and shape and color, too,
 His dainty goods excel--
Aha, my friends, if you but knew--
 But no! I will not tell!

A thousand other shops I know
 Where bargains can be got--
Where other folk would like to go
 Who have what I have not.
I let them hunt; I hold my mouth--
 Yes, though I know full well
Where lie the treasures of the south,
 I'm not a going to tell!