Page 41 - Poetry-Family

Berlin, a few days ago. The occasion was at a party given in honor
of the birth of Eli Butler, the second son; also the event of the
completion of ten years of married life by Mr. and Mrs. Ives...”
[Editor’s note: The clipping ends here, so one is left to wonder
why a poem about the naming of a new baby sister was the
subject of a birthday celebration for an older brother!]

Mr. Finney’s Turnip

Mr. Finney had a turnip,
And it grew, and it grew;
And it grew behind the barn,
And the turnip did no harm.

And it grew, and it grew,
Till it could grow no taller
Then Mr. Finney took it up
And put it in the cellar.

There it lay, there it lay,
‘Till it began to rot,
When the daughter Susie washed it,
And she put it in the pot.
Then she boiled it and boiled it,
As long as she was able;
Then his daughter Lizzie took it,
And she put it on the table.
Mr. Finney and his wife,
Both sat down to sup
And they ate, and they ate,
Until they ate the turnip up.
—Longfellow’s First Poem

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