Finery
In a frock richly trimm'd
With a beautiful lace,
And hair nicely dress'd
Hanging over her face,
Thus deck'd, Harriet went
To the house of a friend,
With a large little party
The ev'ning to spend.
"Ah! how they will all
Be delighted, I guess,
And stare with surprise
At my elegant dress!"
Thus said the vain girl,
And her little heart beat,
Impatient the happy
Young party to meet.
But, alas! they were all
To intent on their fun,
To observe the gay clothes
This fine lady had on;
And thus all her trouble
Quite lost its design,
For they saw she was proud,
But forgot she was fine.
'Twas Lucy, tho' only
In simple white clad,
(Nor trimmings, nor laces,
Nor jewels she had,)
Whose cheerful good nature
Delighted them more,
Than all the fine garments
That Harriet wore.
'Tis better to have
A sweet smile on one's face,
Than to wear a rich frock
With an elegant lace,
For the good-natur'd girl
Is lov'd best in the main,
If her dress is but decent,
Tho' ever so plain.
T I
A Fop
A little cane,
A high-crowned hat,
A fixed impression,
Rather flat.
A pointed shoe,
A scanty coat,
A stand-up collar
Round his throat
A gorgeous necktie
Spreading wide,
A small moustache—
Nine on a side.
Arms at right angles,
Curved with ease,
A stilted walk
And shaky knees.
A languid drawl,
The "English" swing,
An air of knowing
Everything.
A vacant stare,
Extremely rude,
And there you have
The perfect dude.
Pride
Hark the rustle of a dress
Stiff with lavish costliness!
Here comes on whose cheek would flush
But to have her garment brush
'Gainst the girl whose fingers thin
Wove the weary 'broidery in,
Bending backward from her toil,
Lest her tears the silk might soil,
And in midnight's chill and murk,
Stitched her life into the work.
Shaping from her bitter thought,
Heart's-ease and forget-me-not,
Satirizing her despair
With the emblems woven there,
Little doth the wearer heed
Of the heart-break in the blede;
A hyena by her side
Skulks, down-looking—it is Pride.
J. R. Lowell
Vain Lizzie
It surely is not good to see,
Lizzie so full of vanity,
So fond of dress and show.
For when a fine new frock she wears,
She gives herself most silly airs,
Wherever she may go.
She thinks herself a charming girl;
But when folks see her twist and twirl,
They stop in every street,
They smile, or fairly laugh outright,
And say: "She's really quite a sight,
Was ever such conceit?"

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Page 64—Naughtiness Land

Greedy Ned
Mamma gave our Nelly an apple,
So round, and big, and red;
It seemed, beside dainty wee Nelly,
To be almost as large as her head.
Beside her young Neddie was standing—
And Neddie loves apples, too,
"Ah! Nelly!" said Neddie, "give brother
A bite of your apple—ah! do!"
Dear Nelly held out the big apple;
Ned opened his mouth very wide—
So wide, that the startled red apple
Could almost have gone inside!
And oh! what a bite he gave it!
The apple looked small, I declare,
When Ned gave it back to his sister,
Leaving that big bite there.
Poor Nelly looked frightened a moment,
Then a thought made her face grow bright;
"Here, Ned, you can take the apple—
I'd rather have the bite!"
Eva L. Carson, In "St. Nicholas"