 | Interludes and Undertones, or, Music at Twilight |  |
36
XXIX. COMPETITIVE CRAM.
I could not tell the cutler's nameWho sold the blade that murdered Cæsar,
Or fix the hour when Egypt's queen
First thought that Antony might please her.
I could not say how many teeth
King Rufus had when Tyrrell shot him;
Or, after hapless Wolsey's death,
How soon or late King Hal forgot him.
I could not tell how many miles
Within a score rolled Thames or Tiber,
Or count the centuries of a tree
By close inspection of its fibre.
So I was plucked, and lost my chance,
And plodding Cram passed proudly o'er me.
Who cares for Cram? I've Common Sense,
And Health, and all the world before me!
| Interludes and Undertones, or, Music at Twilight | |