but that was written by the immortal Perkins himself. It was Biggs who wrote the charming verse,—
“When corpuscles are thin and white,
Codliver Capsules set them right,”
and that other great hit,—
“When appetite begins to fail
And petty woes unnerve us,
When joy is fled and life is stale,
The Pink Capsules preserve us.
“When doubts and cares distress the mind
And daily duties bore us,
At fifty cents per box we find
The Pink Capsules restore us.”
You can see that an amateur poet who wrote such rot as the following to Kate would not be in the same class whatever:—
TO KATE
“Your lips are like cherries
All sprinkled with dew;
Your eyes are like diamonds,
Sparkling and true.
“Your teeth are like pearls in
A casket of roses,
And nature has found you
The dearest of noses.”
I had Kate copy that for me, and I gave it to Biggs to let him see what he would have to beat. He looked at it and smiled. He flipped over the pages of “Munton's Magazine,” dipped his pen in the ink, and in two minutes handed me this:—
TO KATE
“Your lips are like
Lowney's Bonbons, they're so sweet;
Your eyes shine like pans
That Pearline has made neat.
“Your teeth are like Ivory Soap, they're so white,
And your nose, like Pink Capsules,
Is simply all right!”
I showed it to Perkins, and asked him how he thought it would do. He read it over and shook his head.
“O. K.,” he said, “except Ivory Soap for teeth. Don't like the idea. Suggests Kate may be foaming at the mouth next. Cut it out and say:—