“Do you see the take off in that last word?” she inquired. “Rather smart, wasn’t it? But they’re full of fun, all of them. Here’s another amusing one. I remember that gentleman too. He was always full of his jokes.”
I looked and read: “I was sent to the Red Lion by my doctor for change and rest. The waitress got the change, and the hostess the rest.”
“Isn’t that neat?” the Red Lioness inquired.
I said it was. How could I dash this enthusiast’s spirit by telling her its age?
“This is a bit of poetry,” said my hostess, proceeding to read it:—
“Of all the girls that are so smart,
There’s none like Mrs. Tally,
She is the darling of my heart,
And lives in our alley.
Signed × (Bill Bailey, his mark).