And threepence extra on a pound of bacon;
In fact, I'd be the most resigned of creatures
If you'd compose your "features."
Could you not lift a corner of the mask
That makes these solemn days so much more solemn?
A very little ray is all I ask
To light the utter darkness—say a column
Of "stories" which your slang describes as "snappy;"
With these I could be happy;
With these my topic Muse I might entice;