 | Stones from The Quarry |  |
268
DER DOPPELGÄNGER; OR, MAN AND HIS “DOUBLE.”
Dar'st thou beneath the surface look; awayThe varnish and French polish o' the outside,
The “hack” conventional lendings, the false pride,
Strip off, and closely scan the natural play
O' the features, and let Self itself betray?
And in Truth's glass, not seeking aught to hide,
Scan thyself “back and front,” and then confide,
In tête-à-tête, to Self, what Truth might say?
Would Conscience shrink from the similitude?
Would Self at Self start, as at a scarecrow?
As thy surroundings art thou—so and so.
Some, too, who smell like millefleurs, would exude
From their inner selves a stench, such as might flow
From an untrapped street-gully, if stript nude!
| Stones from The Quarry | |