sold only in small
numbers and were known only to literary people, could have written
anything as good as this.

"I have heard it demonstrated in the pauses of a concert," wrote
Lowell afterward, "that I was utterly incompetent to have written
anything of the kind."

It was early in this same summer of 1846 that Lowell made his contract
to write regularly for the _Anti-Slavery Standard_; and he soon began
sending the "Biglow" poems to that paper instead of to the _Courier_.

The most popular of the whole series of poems by Hosea Biglow was the
one on John P. Robinson. Robinson was a worthy gentleman who happened
to come out publicly on the side of a political wire-puller.
Immediately Hosea caught up his name and wrote a comic poem on voting
for a bad candidate for office. Looked at in that light, the poem
applies just as well to political candidates to-day as it did then.
Here are a few stanzas of the poem. You will want to turn to "Lowell's
Poetical Works" and read the whole piece.

WHAT MR. ROBINSON THINKS.

Guvener B. is a sensible man;
He stays to his home an' looks arter his folks;
He draws his furrer ez straight ez he can,
An' into nobody's tater-patch pokes;
But John P.
Robinson he
Sez he wunt vote fer Guvener B.

My! aint it terrible? Wut shall we du?
We can't never choose him o' course--thet's flat;
Guess we shall hev to come round, (don't you?)
An' go in fer thunder an' guns, an' all that,
Fer John P.
Robinson he
Sez he wunt vote fer Guvener B.

Gineral C. is a dreffle smart man:
He's ben on all sides thet give places or pelf;
But consistency still wuz a part of his plan--
He's been true to _one_ party--an' thet is himself;
So John P.
Robinson he
Sez he shall vote fer Gineral C.

Gineral C. he goes in fer the war;
He don't vally principle more'n an old cud;
Wut did God make us raytional creeturs fer,
But glory an' gunpowder, plunder an' blood?
So John P.
Robinson he
Sez he shall vote fer Gineral C.

The side of our country must ollers be took,
An' President Polk, you know, _he_ is our country.
An' the angel that writes all our sins in a book
Puts the _debit_ to him, an' to us the _per contry_;
And John P.
Robinson he
Sez this is his view o' the thing to a T.

There is a story that Mr. Robinson couldn't go anywhere after this
poem was