GIVEN a roof, and a taste for rations,
And you have the key to the “wealth of nations.”
Given a boy, a tree, and a hatchet,
And virtue strives in vain to match it.
Given a pair, a snake, and an apple,
You make the whole world need a chapel.
Given “no cards,” broad views, and a hovel,
You have a realistic novel.
Given symptoms and doctors with potion and pill,
And your heirs will ere long be contesting your will.
That good leads to evil there’s no denying:
If it were not for _truth_ there would be no _lying_.
“I’m nobody!” should have a hearse;
But then, “I’m somebody!” is worse.
“Folks say,” _et cetera_! Well, they shouldn’t,
And if they knew you well, they wouldn’t.
When you coddle your life, all its vigor and grace
Shrink away with the whisper, “We’re in the wrong place.”
_Mary Mapes Dodge._