Joseph West had been told,
That if, when he grew old,
He had not learnt rightly to spell,
Though his writings were good,
'Twould be not understood:
And Joe said, I will learn my task well.
And he made it a rule
To be silent at school,
And what do you think came to pass?
Why he learnt it so fast,
That from being the last,
He soon was the first in the class.
[Illustration]