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ing began, On a highly barbarian, Disciplinarian, Nearly Tartarean Plan! [Illustration] He taught him some Raleigh, And some of Macaulay, Till all of "Horatius" he knew, And the drastic, sarcastic, Fantastic, scholastic Philippics of "Junius," too. He made him learn lots Of the poems of Watts, And frequently said he ignored, On principle, any son's Title to benisons Till he'd learned Tennyson's "Maud." "For these are the giants Of thought and of science," He said in his positive way: "So weigh them, obey them, Display them, and lay them To heart in your infancy's day!" Jack made no reply, But he said on the sly An eloquent word, that had come From a quite indefensible, Most reprehensible, But indispensable Chum. By the time he was twenty Jack had such a plenty Of books and paternal advice, Though seedy and needy, Indeed he was greedy For vengeance, whatever the price! In the editor's seat Of a critical sheet He found the revenge that he sought; And, with sterling appliance of Mind, wrote defiance of All of the giants of Thought. He'd thunder and grumble At high and at humble Until he became, in a while, Mordacious, pugnacious, Rapacious. Good gracious! They called him the Yankee Carlyle! But he never took rest On his quarrelsome quest Of the giants, both mighty and small. He slated, distorted them, Hanged them and quartered them, Till he had slaughtered them All. And this is _The Moral_ that lies in the verse: If you have a go farther, you're apt to fare worse. (When you turn it around it is different rather:-- You're not apt to go worse if you have a fair father!) [Illustration] How Rudeness and Kindness Were Justly Rewarded Once on a time, long years ago (Just when I quite forget), Two maidens lived beside the Po, One blonde and one brunette. The blonde one's character was mild, From morning until night she smiled, Whereas the one whose hair was brown Did little else than pine and frown. (_I_ think one ought to draw the line At girls who always frown and pine!) The blonde one learned to play the harp, Like all accomplished dames, And trained her voice to take _C_ sharp As well as Emma Eames; Made baskets out of scented grass, A
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