Genre:

Poetry

Subjects:

Disease, War, Medical Treatment, Politics

    Describes an encounter between Emperor Nicholas I of Russia and 'The Cholera' which identifies the Russian emperor as 'my Brother in the Fiend' and 'fellow Curse'. The disease tells Nicholas that his mission is to 'torment, to ruin, and to kill' more humans and points out that Nicholas will be much easier to cure than himself, the cure for Nicholas being the combined forces of England, France, and Germany. The cholera leaves announcing his imminent trip to Sebastopol, where he intends to 'carry on the work thou didst begin in Turkey there'.