The poet of the Pine Tree State is said to have shown decided poetic
proclivities from his earliest days. When a boy of eight or nine, he had
two kittens which he had named Myrtle and Ann Eliza. Myrtle died. He
buried her in the orchard and planted a shingle headstone on the grave,
on which his smiling parents read:
"Here Myrtle lies--
Gone to fertilize."
In a short time Ann Eliza passed from this earthly scene of
caterwauling, and was buried beside Myrtle, with a shingle headstone
duly erected and inscribed. His parents, wondering what would be the
epitaph, were delighted to read:
"Here lies Ann Eliza--
More fertilizer."