A few gassy spouts can, of course; for they prate, don't you see, and we pay;
But that rule will not work all round, thanks be!—a skilled hand, a sharp eye
Are the artisan's proper rig-out; and as for the rest of it, why
Mr. Schoolmaster there does his best with his 'ologies, 'isms, and things,
But if a man's lot is to trudge, it is small use a-fitting him wings.
No, I 'm not against learning, not me; but life's battle means gumption and tools,
That is for the general ruck, and the saps who deny it are fools.
I remembered my father, old Millwright, in days as no more will be seen,
When a man put his soul in his work, a mechanic was not a machine.
It would take lots o' "technical" teaching to bring our lads up to his trim,