A WARNING.
Makers of bonnets the women wear,
Molders of fashion, whoe’er ye be,
Drear is the curse of my daily prayer,
Deep is the hatred I have for thee.
This is the warning I fling afar:
“Mold ’em more on a smaller plan.
Chop off a couple of yards of ‘spar,’
Or beware the wrath of an angry fan.”
Yesteryear to the game I went,
Daily the pilgrimage I made.
O what a waste of coin I spent,
Wondering there how the game was played!
Was it a hit or an error raw?
Was it a stolen base or score?
I peered in vain, but I only saw
A hat that was nine feet wide or more!
Back to the park this spring I passed,
Knowing the old styles out of date.
“Now,” I thought, “I shall get at last
A look once more at the old ‘home plate.’”
Was it a hit or fielding flaw?
Why the deuce did the bleachers roar?
In vain I looked, but I only saw
A hat that was nine feet high or more!
Makers of bonnets the women wear,
Molders of fashion, whoe’er ye be,
Drear is the curse of my daily prayer,
Deep is the hatred I have for thee.
This is the warning I hurl to-day:
“Cut on a narrower, shorter plan;
Chop off a couple of yards each way,
Or beware the wrath of a maddened fan.”
OUT ON THE LINES.
It isn’t so much, “Did you make a hit?” but, “How did you swing at the ball?”
Did you go up to bat with your nerve all gone and never half try at all?
Did your heart beat strong? Were your eye gleams bright? Did you swing as it cut the plate?
Or did you stand in a listless way and hit at the ball too late?
It isn’t so much, “Did you score a run?” but, “How did you act on base?”
Did you run it out at the crack of the bat with a rattling, dashing pace?
Did you look for a chance to steal a bag? Did you score by your own keen wit?
Or did you get all the way around on another fellow’s hit?
It isn’t so much, “Did you win the game?” but, “How did you play, old scout?”
Did you give ’em a fight to the bitter end and scrap till the last was out?
Did you let ’em know they were in a game? Did you always come back strong?
Or did you loaf when the game seemed lost, and quit when the “break” went wrong?