 | When life is young |  |
236
THE MAN WHO DID N'T KNOW WHEN TO STOP
A very fair singer was Mynheer Schwop,
Except that he never knew when to stop,
He would sing, and sing, and sing away,
And sing half the night and all of the day—
This “pretty bit” and that “sweet air,”
This “little thing from Tootovère.”
Ah! it is fearful the number he knew,
And fearful his way of singing them through.
At first, the people would kindly say:
“Ah, sing it again, Mynheer, we pray”—
(This “pretty bit,” or that “sweet air,”
This “little thing from Tootovère”).
They listened a while, but wearied soon,
And, like the professor, they changed their tune.
Vainly they coughed and a-hemmed and stirred;
Only the harder he trilled and slurred.
At last, in despair, and rather than grieve
The willing professor, they took their leave,
And left him singing this “sweet air,”
And that “pretty bit from Tootovère”;
Until the host turned down the light,
With “Thanks, Mynheer! Good night! good night!”
Except that he never knew when to stop,
He would sing, and sing, and sing away,
And sing half the night and all of the day—
This “pretty bit” and that “sweet air,”
This “little thing from Tootovère.”
Ah! it is fearful the number he knew,
And fearful his way of singing them through.
At first, the people would kindly say:
“Ah, sing it again, Mynheer, we pray”—
(This “pretty bit,” or that “sweet air,”
This “little thing from Tootovère”).
They listened a while, but wearied soon,
And, like the professor, they changed their tune.
Vainly they coughed and a-hemmed and stirred;
Only the harder he trilled and slurred.
At last, in despair, and rather than grieve
The willing professor, they took their leave,
And left him singing this “sweet air,”
And that “pretty bit from Tootovère”;
237
With “Thanks, Mynheer! Good night! good night!”
My moral, dear singers, lies plainly a-top:
Be always obliging, and willing—to stop.
The same will apply, my dear children, to you;
Whenever you 've any performing to do,
Your friends to divert (which is quite proper, too),
Do the best that you can—and stop when you 're through.
Be always obliging, and willing—to stop.
The same will apply, my dear children, to you;
Whenever you 've any performing to do,
Your friends to divert (which is quite proper, too),
Do the best that you can—and stop when you 're through.
| When life is young | |