There was an imperious old Sage
Who upheld the dominion of Age,
But his son, a grim youth,
Red in claw and in tooth,
Shut him up in a chloroformed cage.
There was also a Child full of beans
Who bombarded nine great magazines,
But not one of the nine
Ever published a line,
For the Child was not yet in its teens.
There was thirdly, to round off these rhymes,
A Matron who railed at the crimes
Of designers of frocks
Who in smart fashion "blocks"
Left middle-age out of _The Times_.
The moral--if morals one seeks
In an age of sensation and shrieks--
Is this: Even still
Things are apt to go ill
With old, young and middle-aged freaks.
* * * * *
Our Erudite Contemporaries.
"The Grecian women were forbidden entrance to the stadium where
the [Olympic] games were being held, and any woman found therein
was thrown from the Tarpeian rock."
_Canadian Paper._
* * * * *
"The French are thinking of building straw houses to remedy the
present housing crisis. The first straw house has already been
built at Montargis."--_Evening Paper._
Where, presumably, they are trying it on the well-known local Dog.
* * * * *
"Negotiating the intricate traffic of the City was quite easy, the
engine being responsive to the slightest touch of the steering
wheel. It is just the car for the owner-driver."
_Financial Paper._
Our chauffeur agrees. He says _he_ wouldn't undertake to drive it down
the village street, let alone the City.
* * * * *
"IS SINGING ON THE DECLINE?
A GREAT TENOR'S ADVICE.
'NEVER FIGHT AGAINST THE BRASS.'"
_Morning Paper._
It is, we believe, the experience of most impresarios that great
tenors almost invariably fight _for_ the brass.
* * * * *
[Illustration: "QUICK, MUMMIE! COME AND HELP BOBBIE--HE'S FALLEN INTO
THE LUCKY DIP."]
* * * * *