oom
Of those who thus have gone to meet their doom--
May we, ourselves, not some day follow suit,
Ourselves to be the Butt of jests--for whom?

INDEED, 'tis better to have loved and lost--
Taken the Kiss and fled, at any cost,
Than to have loved and married, and for aye,
Thereafter, by a _Woman_, to be bossed.

WITH me, along that strip of Broadway strewn
With lovely maids, each radiant afternoon,
And think, of all the thousands you behold,
That you can marry one--and _only one_!

BUT, if the lip I kiss, the hand I press,
Upon the morrow seem to charm me less,
Ah well, am I not still a _Bachelor_,
And thus, entitled to--another Guess?

[Illustration: SOME FOR THE COMFORTS OF A CLUB MAY SIGH.]

SOME for the comforts of a club may sigh,
And some for a hermit's lonely life. Not I!
Give me a cozy hearthside, and a Girl
Always "at home" when _I_ chance by!

HER cushioned chair a spot where I may curl
My weary form, and rest, beyond the whirl
Of madd'ning cares; to rise at half-past ten,
And call next night--upon _another girl_!

WHY, if a man can thus, at ease, abide
Each evening by a different damsel's side,
Were't not a shame--were't not a shame, for him
To any _one_, forever to be tied?

AND so, the girls I've set my heart upon,
I've flattered, wooed a little--and anon,
Just as they thought to slip the fatal Noose
About my neck, behold--the Bird had flown!

FOR this the argument that I submit--
Refute it, if you can, with all your wit!
That Luck in Love, for such as you and I,
Consists in safely keeping _out_ of it!

* * * * *

THIS morn, I've quaffed at least a quart or more
Of water--yet am thirsty as before;
And that dark taste still lingers in the mouth
With which, last night, I reformation swore.

[Illustration: SOME ANGEL, WITH A SAVING DRINK.]

YET, when some Angel, with a saving drink
Of iced Nepenthe comes, I shall not shrink;
But, having drunk of it, shall feel again
As good and noble as before, I think.