It is not easy to tell what satire is, or where it originated. "In Eden," says Dryden, "the husband and wife excused themselves by laying the blame on each other, and gave a beginning to those conjugal dialogues in prose which poets have perfected in verse." Whatever it may be, we know it when it cuts us, and Sherwood Bonner's hit on the Radical Club of Boston was almost inexcusable.
She was admitted as a guest, and her subsequent ridicule was a violation of all good breeding. But like so many wicked things it is captivating, and while you are shocked, you laugh. While I hold up both hands in horror, I intend to give you an idea of it; leaving out the most personal verses.
THE RADICAL CLUB.
BY SHERWOOD BONNER.
Dear friends, I crave attention to some facts that I shall mention
About a Club called "Radical," you haven't heard before;
Got up to teach the nation was this new light federation,
To teach the nation how to think, to live, and to adore;
To teach it of the heights and depths that all men should explore;
Only this and nothing more.
It is not my inclination, in this brief communication,
To produce a false impression—which I greatly would deplore—
But a few remarks I'm makin' on some notes a chiel's been takin,'
And, if I'm not mistaken, they'll make your soul upsoar,
As you bend your eyes with eagerness to scan these verses o'er;
Truly this and something more.
And first, dear friends, the fact is, I'm sadly out of practice,
And may fail in doing justice to this literary bore;
But when I do begin it, I don't think 'twill take a minute
To prove there's nothing in it (as you've doubtless heard before),
But a free religious wrangling club—of this I'm very sure—
Only this and nothing more!
'Twas a very cordial greeting, one bright morning of their meeting;
Such eager salutations were never heard before.
After due deliberation on the importance of the occasion,
To begin the organization, Mr. Pompous took the floor
With an air quite self-complacent, strutted up and took the floor,
As he'd often done before!
With an air of condescension he bespoke their close attention
To an essay from a Wiseman versed in theologic lore;
He himself had had the pleasure of a short glance at the treasure,
And in no stinted measure said we had a treat in store;
Then he waved his hand to Wiseman and resigned to him the floor;
Only this and nothing more.