IX.
Not only that: he, on his head
So dexterously caught it,
That all the ladies present said
They never should have thought it!
And even I could not but own
'Twas hard lines for the paving-stone!
X.
Next day he caught a cold, alack!
And all his muscles vanished,
But none of his old brains came back
Which his dumb-bells had banished;
And not a rack was left behind
Of what he chose to call his mind!
XI.
Poor Richard now (O have you met
Him lately) has grown bitter;
For when he plays the flageolet
The ladies talk and titter;
And no one ever thinks his brow
In any way good-looking now!
XII.
O little men, who wish to please,
Be wiser than poor Dick! shun
Big friends with brawny bicipes,
And female works of fiction:
But stick to music all your might,
Or be cut out. And serve you right!
52
