THE LAY OF THE CIVIL SERVANT
I am the very model of a modern Civil Servant,—
My ambition for the strenuous life’s particularly fervent.
I know a host of pleasant facts and many a pleasing fiction,
Among which last I may include, a member’s “firm conviction.”
I know the day and month of every statutory feast,—
But why these days are “Holy Days,” it matters not the least.
I know the Civil Service List and everybody’s pay
And why they came, why they’re here, and their likely length of stay;
I can see a hole in a ladder and know a Pull when I feel it,