Page 45 - Poetry-Books
P. 45
Write Christmas verses in the month of June;
In January sing a summer tune;
Chant elegies before the victim’s dead
For magazines want verse six months ahead.
When, following my advice, you’ve conquered fame,
Fail not to sign in full your middle name.
My lot in this regard was very sad:
I had no middle name—they thought me mad!
—Nat Lee (Century Magazine, 1885)
*Wordsworth, “Peter Bell”
The New Play
The play was dull from end to end.
The dramatist addressed his friend:
“If not a hit, ‘twas not a miss;
I did not hear a single hiss.”
“True,” said his friend, “but tell me whether
A man can hiss and gape together?”
— George Birdseye (Century Magazine, 1885)
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