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PHANTASMAGORIA.
15
"That's plain," said I, "as Tare and Tret,
To any comprehension:
I only wish some ghosts I've met
Would not so constantly forget
The maxim that you mention."
"Perhaps," he said, "you first transgressed
The laws of hospitality:
You'll mostly come off second-best
When you omit to treat your guest
With proper cordiality.
"If you address a ghost as 'thing,'
Or strike him with a hatchet,
He is permitted by the king
To drop all formal parleying—
And then you're sure to catch it!
