Dr. So-much-the-worse went out to see
A patient sick as one could be.
His brother So-much-the-better,
Having received an urgent letter,
Came also the sick man to visit.
So-much-the-worse declared he'd die,
So-much-the-better asked him why.
And while their plans they thus discourse,
The sick man died, _so much the worse_!
So-much-the-better now declared,
That if the sick man had not despaired,
He would have lived. So-much-the-worse
Said, "I was right, agree with me,
Our patient's dead, as you can see."