And boys can get tired, I don’t care what they say—
To have father declare, in his evening chat,
“When I was a boy I did better than that.
“I was bound out when I was a boy,
Had never a play-day, a book, or a toy.
I earned my first suit when I was of age,
By working at odd hours for old Deacon Gage;
I often went barefoot, having seldom a hat,
And as for a coat, I was too poor for that.
Of course I had extra clothes for cold weather,